New pattern: Khufu Mitts

The September shipment of the 7 Ancient Wonders Club by The Unique Sheep is winging its way to club members all over the world, and I'm going to give you a little peek at what's inside! It's my new pattern, Khufu Mitts, inspired by the Great Pyramid at Giza. I have long been obsessed with all things Egypt, so when I was approached about designing for the club, I was more than excited to be assigned The Great Pyramid! At first I was a little stumped at how to make a mitten correlate to a desert region, but in the end I'm really happy with the symbolism here!

Cabled cuffs suggest the waves of the Nile River

Bricklike patterning and a pointed mitten top represent the pyramid itself

Sand stitch across the hand evokes the vast deserts of Egypt

These mitts are worked in the amazing Green Sheep Sport, an organic merino wool truly unmatched by anything else in its class. Only 250 yards knits up the pair of mitts, which are worked upwards in one piece from the cabled cuffs. Instructions are included for a full and partial thumb, and a nifty convertible mitten top means the wearer may choose between a full mitten and a fingerless glove.

This pattern is exclusive to club members until March of 2011, but if you are interested in knowing when the pattern is available for sale, please leave a comment on the pattern page, and I'll be sure to let you know! In the meantime, why not look into joining another of The Unique Sheep's clubs?

Welcome!

Welcome to everyone who's filtering over my way from Knitty, and to my other five loyal readers! Today I'm excited to announce that my newest pattern, Cirque, is available through Knitty!

cute cably goodness!

These socks are in the advanced knitter category of "extraspicy" because they feature detailed patterning, including many sections of line-by-line patterning at the heel and toe, circular cables, and an "unvented" bindoff. If you're looking for a bit of a challenge or something to pay attention to, these are your socks! I'd like to thank Cindi and Lisbeth for testing these for me - my knitting group rocks!

the twist goes allllllll the way around the toe due to an unconventional three-needle bindoff

I'd also like to thank the fabulous sock tech editor over at Knitty, Kate Atherly, for helping make this pattern perfect. I hope that you will all find it to be error-free! (And in a complicated pattern, isn't that even more important than usual?)

Yes, those are both my feet. No, I wouldn't wear them like that.

Comments welcome - I'd love to know what you guys think!

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Golf Like an Egyptian!

Next up, another golf club cover! This one features an easy mosaic stitch that looks much more complicated than it actually is!

For those unfamiliar with mosaic stitch, it is a two-color knitting technique that only uses one color per row; the second color of stitches are slipped from the row before, creating an interesting fair-isle effect!

Get the PDF for free, here.

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Guitar Strap!

Next up, we've got a super simple, crocheted guitar strap:



This works up quickly and uses just a scant amount of worsted yarn! This is great for that sari silk you bought but now realize you have absolutely no use for. Know someone who likes to play around on their guitar? That friend of yours that's 36 but still thinks his band is going to make it? This is for them. :)

Download the PDF for free, here.



Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Profane Golf Club Covers!

As promised, here's the next free pattern up for grabs!

thanks to BumbleBeas for the kind use of this photo!

For golfers with a sense of humor, this set of covers will not only keep your clubs cozy, they'll give your foursome a good chuckle, too! Includes charts for #, @, !, * and %.

Get the free PDF here.

Till next time (and don't worry, there's more to come),
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Argyle Golf Club Covers!

Whoa! I just realized I've never uploaded all of my free patterns to the bloggity-blog, so I'll be doing that over the next few days. Check back tomorrow for another freebie! Today's lovely is:

Argyle Golf Club Covers!

These have been popular for Dads, Brothers, Boyfriends, Husbands, and men in general, but I'm partial to this fun pink and green combination!

This pattern requires basic fair isle skills, but would also be a great beginner fair isle project. Check out the projects already posted on Ravelry!

Download the PDF for free, here.

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day!

Well, it's been awhile since I've given you all a new free pattern, so I thought this was long overdue! I give you:

The Three-Way Scarf!
(snickering here is entirely appropriate)

This little pretty is based off the Climbing Trellis Lace pattern showcased on Purl Bee, also used in Elisa's Nest Tote. It's a simple, quick knit worked lengthwise to the width desired, blocked, and styled in one of three ways. The scarf and shawl options require no other effort, while the shrug calls for knitting cuffs across the shorter ends. Voila! A stunning new accessory for fall.

Pattern calls for 1 hank of Henry's Attic Peruvian Tweed.

Enjoy, my dears! Click here to download the free PDF!

Till next time,

Sarah

Blue Hawaii!

Yes, dears, it's finally finished and ready for your knitting pleasure! I give you:

Blue Hawaii!

This pretty, clever top features an elastic band that’s worked right into the fabric while you knit, making folded hems and sewn-in elastic a thing of the past! The beautiful cabled detail is all done without a cable needle, using simple twisted stitches appropriate for even a novice knitter. Also featuring easily removable straps, you’ll find this top will take you from the beach days of summer right into fall – just throw on a blazer and keep on wearing it! Styling suggestions are included in the pattern. Sized from XS-3X.

MATERIALS:

• The Unique Sheep Pima Petite (100% cotton; 265 yards per 100 gram skein); color: Spring Lilac; 3 (3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4) skeins


• Rainbow Elastic Thread (1 mm Fine, 50 yds per card); color: 64 Violet; 1 card (available at Beadwrangler’s Thread Shop)


• 1 set 20 inch US #6/4 mm circular needles


• 1 set 20 inch US #7/4.5 mm circular needles


• 2 3/4 inch buttons

Purchase the shiny, 2-page PDF for only $5.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Angularities!

Originally featured in Magknits, April 2008.

Knit with sock yarn, these lovely armwarmers will keep you warm in style, while munching up those leftover skeins! As seen here, they use 1 skein of Lang Jawoll and 1/2 skein of Tess Super Socks & Baby - but you could use any odds and ends you might have lying around! In total, you'll need about 400 yards for the pair.

Buy the 3-page PDF for only $1.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - La Vie en Rose

Another free treat for my readers, courtesy of my LYS:

Knit up with only 2 skeins of scrumptious laceweight Malabrigo, this wrap is deliciously squishy, soft and warm! Little ruffled cap sleeves keep the wrap securely in place. Wear it open, tied in front, or thrown artistically over one shoulder and secured with a shawl pin! You can even wear it as a keyhole scarf - just wrap 'round your neck and poke one end through a sleeve! Beaded ends weigh the easy, 3-row repeat lace pattern down nicely.

Download the PDF for free, here. Add it to your Ravelry queue, here.

Till next time,
Sarah

Welcome, Knitty Readers!

. . .(and everyone else, too, of course!)

We're so glad you're here!

I'm excited to be premiering my first Knitty pattern, Cables & Bits, in the Winter 2007 issue! I'm totally looking forward to seeing what all of you are going to make out of this pattern! I welcome hearing from all of you on Ravelry!

Download the PDF for free, here.

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Mel's Scarf

I whipped this up a couple of weeks ago as a special order for a friend of mine:

Mel's Scarf

Warm & Comfy!

A bit of bling

This was knit on US 35's using the following yarns:

Vanna's Choice (1 skein each) - 174 Olive and 99 Linen

Bernat Bamboo (2 skeins) - Dill

Joann Sensations Angel Hair (1 skein each) - Mint and Cream/Brown

Patons Brilliant (1 skein) - Marvelous Mocha

1/8" double face satin ribbon - 12 spools of 10 yards each, chocolate brown


Here's the "pattern" (queue it up on Ravelry here!):


Holding all yarns at once, cast on 15 sts. Work in garter stitch (knit every row) until piece measures 8 inches square. Continue by working in stockinette stitch, slipping the first stitch of every row. Work even until piece measures approximately 4 feet, 4 inches in length from cast on row. Finish by working an additional 8 inches in garter stitch. Bind off. Fasten tassels to each corner of the scarf, attaching beaded charm to one tassel, if desired.

The ribbons can be simply knotted together as you go; the texture of the scarf will hide any ends! Wear produly and be fabulous. : )

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - Other knitting has been going on, too! I finished Bella Paquita last week, looky!

Stargazer

Finally here!

My newly released pattern, Stargazer, has arrived! I'm excited to see this pattern finally released as I started knitting and designing it over a year ago! A few people have already asked me about yarn substitutions. For the main color, I suggest Rowan Cotton Glace, and for the silky band, I suggest Crystal Palace's Mikado Ribbon yarn...or any shiny tape yarn, for that matter!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you will enjoy wearing this as much as I've enjoyed designing it!

Sized for Ladies XS-3X. Not sure what this will look like on your body type? Take a look at the Ravelry projects page for this design to see it knit up for a variety of shapes and sizes! Never knit a sweater before? No worries! This unique piece is actually made up of four rectangles, cleverly seamed together! Don't like seaming? Tips are included for making the design seamless. :)

Requirements:

(MC) Red Heart Lustersheen [100% Acrylic, 335 yds per 4 oz skein] color: Turquoise, 3 [4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6] skeins
(CC) Ribbon “Yarn”; White; 60 [70] yards (Directions for how to make this yarn given in pattern)
OR any silky tape yarn knit to gauge of 5 st/6 rows/inch in seed stitch; color: White; 60 [70, 70, 80, 80, 90, 90] yards
1 set(s) US #5/3.75 mm straight needles

Buy the shiny, 4-page pattern for just $3.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Diamondback Shrug

Here's my latest design for the store:

Sized for Ladies S-M-L, with tips for how to size up! Includes a tutorial for log cabin knitting. Requirements: 4 skeins (all sizes) Malabrigo Worsted Weight (100% wool, 216 yards per 3.5 oz skein); color: #137 Emerald Blue, US #7/4.5 mm straights, double points and 32-inch circular needles.

Buy the shiny, 3-page PDF for only $3.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day - Holey Hexagons!

Click here for the free PDF!



Till next time,
Sarah

Stafford

Download the shiny PDF for only $1.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Free Pattern Day!

Hole-In-One!

Click here for the free PDF!

I love seeing all of your finished objects, so don't be shy about posting pics on your blogs and on Ravelry!

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - More free patterns to come in the days ahead, I couldn't give all the fun away in one day!

Free Pattern Day - Hurricane Socks!

Here it is guys, my Hurricane Sock, free to all! Please leave a comment if you have questions! Enjoy!

Honey of a Hurricane Socks


Download the PDF for free, here. Add it to your Ravelry queue, here.

Enjoy, guys! Remember to leave a comment if you have a question!

Till next time,
Sarah