Ziggy Stardust

I am a sucker for rainbows. One of our bedroom windows faces east and is covered in prisms so when I pull the shade up in the morning, the room is bathed in color. I have a lot of rainbow socks, self-striping rainbow yarn, and when my son asked for a rainbow cowl for the fall, I was happy to indulge him. The internet tells us, "A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun." Science aside, I love seeing color in the sky after a good rain, a wobbly chalk rainbow drawn on our driveway by my son, kids with their faces painted in the full spectrum at festivals, and walls of rainbow yarn at my LYS.

I've been working a lot with Freia Fibers yarns lately. I love the slow change of the colors in the ombré and the addictive nature of knitting until the next color appears on the needles, making me work just one more round, then maybe another round, and just let me knit through one more... You get the idea. We all do it! One of Freia's ombré colorways, Dirty Hippie, runs through the full spectrum and I've been wanting to pair it with a solid for a while in a simple Fair Isle cowl.

Introducing Ziggy Stardust, an easy colorwork aran weight cowl designed to show off your inner glam rocker! Paired with a neutral semi-solid, I love how the single ply provides such perfect stitch definition and creates a thicker, more plush knitted fabric. This was one of those designs that flew off the needles, each new color making me more and more happy. Let the rainbow do the work!

And why "Ziggy Stardust?" Wikipedia tells us, "David Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust is a fictional rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. Bowie created Ziggy Stardust while in New York City promoting Hunky Dory, and performed as him on the Ziggy Stardust Tour through the United Kingdom, Japan and North America. The album, and the character of Ziggy Stardust, was known for its glam rock influences... Considered Bowie's breakthrough album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and number 75 in the US Billboard 200 chart, and has sold 7.5 million copies worldwide, as of January 2016. Upon release, the album received widespread critical acclaim and has been considered one of the greatest albums of all time,  being deemed 'culturally, historically, or artistically significant' by the Library of Congress.

Flanked by colorful corrugated ribbing and knitting up on US 8 circular needles, this is an intuitive design, making it perfect for "bystander knitting" - the kind of knitting we do while waiting in a waiting room, waiting for school to get out, waiting for the movie to start, you get the idea. Easy and quick is the name of the game with these recent patterns and this is the latest from the same vein.

Download the Ziggy Stardust cowl here and rock on!

Extinct Bird Costumes

You know I love to share craft-related articles I run across with you, dear readers. I've always had a thing for birds (I grew up with a pet cockatiel, Ralphie, whom I adored and would whistle with for hours). Check out these cool pigeon suits crocheted by Laurel Roth Hope! While the craftsmanship itself is colorful and playful, read the article for the true meaning behind her work and the comment it makes on extinction. Original article found here.

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Biodiversity Reclamation Suits: Extinct Bird Costumes for Urban Pigeons Crocheted by Laurel Roth Hope

by Christopher Jobson

When first engaging with these crocheted bird suits by artist Laurel Roth Hope it’s not without a bit of whimsy and an immediately appreciation for her skill with yarn and needle. The colorful one-of-a-kind sweaters are each designed to fit a standard urban pigeon, complete with a hood retrofitted with eye and beak holes. While the project isn’t without a bit of humor, its warning is particularly dire: each suit represents an extinct bird species and highlights the futility of restoring lost biodiversity. The works are purposely displayed on hand-carved pigeon mannequins to suggest that animals we most abhor are often the ones most capable of thriving within a human-made environment.

Hope has worked as a natural-resource conservator and park ranger, both of which have deeply influenced her artwork that explores themes of environmental harm, extinction, and consumerism. You can see many more of her Biodiversity Reclamation Suits in this gallery.

Concord, 2008. Cotton, silk, bamboo, wool, and acrylic. Blended yarn mannequin: basswood, acrylic paint, gouache, glass, pewter, and walnut.

Seychelles Parakeet, 2015. Crocheted yarn, handmade pigeon mannequin, walnut stand.

Urban Pigeons: Dodo II, 2014. Crocheted yarn, handmade pigeon mannequin, walnut stand.

Passenger Pigeon II, 2014. Crocheted yarn, handmade pigeon mannequin, walnut stand.

Carolina Parakeet, 2009. Crocheted yarn, hand carved pigeon mannequin, walnut stand.

Carolina Parakeet (detail)

Bachman’s Warbler, 2015. Crocheted yarn, handmade resin pigeon mannequin, walnut stand.

Kings & Thieves Cowl

Earlier this year at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, I stopped by to see my friends from Dragonfly Fibers at their booth. It was our first big outing with the baby and we look forward to the festival each year. My son loves seeing and petting the myriad breeds of sheep, my husband finds the different types of fibers and processing fascinating, and of course, I go to see my knitting friends, yarn company friends, and to scope out new yarns for future projects.

It's become a tradition to stop by and see Kate and Nancye from Dragonfly, have them show me their new fibers and colors, catch each other up on the goings on with our families, talk about future work, and snuggle some of their yarns. When I asked what was new, I'm pretty sure I squealed with delight when Nancye put some Selkie Sport in my hands to squish. An absolutely delightful blend of 70% Bluefaced Leicester and 30% mulberry silk, I don't normally gravitate towards sportweight, but immediately made an exception when I held this yarn.

What's so special about Bluefaced Leicester? Our friends at Wikipedia tell us, "The Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) is a longwool breed of sheep which evolved from a breeding scheme of Robert Bakewell, in Dishley, Leicestershire in the eighteenth century. This breed is raised primarily for meat, but their fleece is becoming increasingly popular for handspinning. Bluefaced Leicester sheep may also have brown on their face and have curly, fine, rather lustrous wool which is one of the softest of the UK clip. The fleeces are not very heavy, only weighing 1 to 3 kg (2.2 to 6.6 lb) and are recognisable through their Roman noses, which have a dark blue skin which can be seen through the white hair, hence the name." All that aside, it's one of my favorite breeds to knit with and I find myself knitting with it again and again.

I came home with a hank of Purple Haze and Red Bud, knowing that lace would be part of the plan. I know - shocking that I didn't turn it into Fair Isle! Meet the Kings & Thieves Cowl, a mix of jogless stockinette stripes in the round with lace. Starting with a provisional cast on, then kitchenered up at the end, this cowl really shows off the beauty of Dragonfly's dyeing, the wonderful drape of the knitted fabric due to the fiber content, and uses just a hank of each color. Knit on US 5 circular knitting needles, this is yet another of my new patterns designed for a knitter on the go. I love the color quality that you can only get with a hand dyed yarn. Stripes, band of color, and blocks of lace make the yarn the star in this pattern. Add additional yardage to make a longer cowl and double loop it around your neck!

If you find yourself at the Shenandoah Fiber Festival September 23rd and 24th (another one of our favorites we hit year after year as a family), stop by the Dragonfly Fibers booth to see the cowl in person and drape it around your neck! Word on the street is there will also be kits available at their booth. If you see me wandering around the festival with my family stuffing our faces with the out-of-this-world apple cobbler the Boy Scouts sell there, be sure to say hello!

Download the Kings & Thieves Cowl here.

Lovequist Baby Blanket

When we're planning our yearly summer trek to New Hampshire, one of the first things we do is make a list of the hikes we want to accomplish. They have to be family friendly (our 6-year-old son, Callum, declares himself "the navigator" and likes to lead), no more than 5 miles, not too far off the beaten path in case of emergency, and bonus points for a waterfall or spectacular view. My husband is a master of finding gem after gem and we've had family hikes that I tuck away into my memory that I pull out often throughout the year until it's time to go back the following summer.

We found a new one this year that started off with an impressive gorge complete with a raging river thanks to the heavy rains, a cool suspension bridge, then finished off with a trail that looped us around a gorgeous lake. Tucked in our hiking back pack was a new baby blanket design I had recently finished that needed to be photographed. It didn't have a name yet and I was hoping to be inspired on this hike.

Meet the Lovequist Baby Blanket, a stroller blanket designed to be a rectangle rather than a square to keep baby's legs and feet warm while in the stroller or car seat. I used one of Dragonfly Fiber's lovely yarn kits in their Midcenturey Modern gradient made up of 2 different blues, greens, and reds. I really love their Traveller yarn, a hand dyed 100% superwash merino DK weight that's both light and bouncy. I've used this yarn a lot for baby knits and colorwork, and it washes up beautifully and has nice stitch definition. I go back to it again and again and was immediately drawn to this collection of colors when I first saw it at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

Lace is ideal for babies because it offers ventilation and texture for them to play with. I went with a retro lace pattern to go well with the retro color theme and the result is a blanket that knits up quickly and in keeping with the theme of my recent pattern releases, designed for a knitter on the go. This blanket came with me to a lot of different places, and all I needed was the current color I was knitting with and if I was feeling ambitious, the following color. Worked one stripe at a time on US 7 (4.5mm) knitting needles, the yarn kit provides enough yarn to get 2 stripes of each color, totaling 840 yards. The pattern is simple enough for a beginner lace knitter, yet interesting enough for someone who often has lace on their needles. There will be an edge that scallops on its own due to the nature of the increases and decreases of lace knitting.

I was disappointed when the yarn ran out and the blanket was bound off - I found this to be a very fun and fast knit! And check out the beautiful shadow it casts!

An ode to that wonderful afternoon we spent walking through the woods and climbing rocks around the gorge, the Lovequist Baby Blanket will put a smile on my face every time I drape it across my baby daughter. Each design I do has a certain memory attached to it, but this one was extra-special. We are raising our kids to appreciate nature, appreciate what their bodies can do, installing a love for hiking, and time spent together without electronics - the only sounds being our feet crunching on the trail, the call of a bird, or the whoosh of a waterfall. This was our first summer in New Hampshire as a foursome and last summer we hiked some of these same trails while I was pregnant. I thought about summer 2017 and there being a new member of our family to continue on the tradition of daily hikes, rain or shine. It was everything I hoped it would be.

I hope someday this blanket will be throw in another hiking backpack, the next generation getting ready to hike this same trail.

Download the Lovequist Baby Blanket here.