adventures of a knitter

What I am working on at the moment

katyawilsher — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:21:31 +0000

I had a long break from writing up new patterns this summer, but now I am back.

At the moment I am working on a cowl and a neckwarmer patterns, which are great for quick Christmas presents, and one absolutely gorgeous wrap cardigan.

Here are some photos of the finished projects. Patterns are now being edited and tested and will be published soon.

Carmel cardigan

Carmel cardigan was inspired by beautiful town of Carmel on the Pacific Coast in California, which I visited this spring. Cardi is elegant and feminine. It is a quick knit as it is made in Aran weight yarn, and lace pattern is very easy to memorise.

Carmel cardigan

Carmel Cardigan

Esprit cowl

Esprit cowl was knit in absolutely gorgeous Cascade Venezia Worsted. It is 70% merino and 30% silk, so it is very soft, perfect to be worn next to your skin.

Cowl is knit back and forth in rows, then both edges are joined together.

Esprit cowl

Neckwarmer – so far without a name

This is a cute neckwarmer in Aran weigh yarn. I used less than 100 g of Colourmart Shiny Cotton 9/15NM (which actually has only some cotton, but also has merino and cashmere fibres, which makes it very soft) which I have left after Carmel cardi.

Neckwarmer is knit on the round. As it is usual with my designs, the main stitch is a lace stitch. This stitch is perfect for knitting on the round. It has decreases in even and odd number rows, but this way I only have to do knit decreases (k2tog and ssk) and avoid purl decrease (p2tog and ssp).

Unfortunately, this neckwarmer still hasn’t got a name (I am pretty bad with that).

Lace neckwarmer

My weekend – alpine walk

katyawilsher — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:44:45 +0000

I am staying in Morzine in French Alpes the moment and on the weekend we went for a lovely walk in the mountains. It was not a walk in the park as we had to walk up a rather steep path for over an hour, but with these views it was worth it.

Missimer Pullover in Knitting Plus Book

katyawilsher — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:23:03 +0000

I am very excited to be part of the Knitting Plus Book with my Missimer Pullover. Composed especially for plus-sized women, it not only has 15 gorgeous patterns, but also lots of information and tips on how to make sure that your garment fits well and suits your body shape.

Chapter 1 explains how sweaters are constructed and how different measurements influence the finished fit. Chapter 2 talks about body measurements, how to choose right size and gives you tips on how to customise your garment. Lisa goes on to explore 5 basic styles of sweaters: drop-shoulder, set-in sleeve, raglan sleeve, seamless yoke and dolman sleeve. She explains what styles suit different body shapes. And there are 3 patterns for each sweater style.

My design Missimer Pullover with dolman sleeve and simple boat neck is full of style and sophistication. Large-scale all-over lace pattern is perfect for a plus-sized garment. Shimmery linen-blend yarn gives the fabric a beautiful drape.

Missimer Pullover by Katya Wilsher, Knitting Plus

Missimer Pullover sketch

Creating the sample of the pullover was not without a few mishaps. I took this project with me on a sailing holiday in Greece. One day, when I was knitting on deck, a rush of wind blew all my notes into the water. My mother-in-law and I tried to fish them out of the water. We managed to rescue most of it, but unfortunately my chart had drowned. Luckily for me, I managed to recreate the chart from my swatch.

I hope you will enjoy this book. Happy knitting, everyone!

Third time the charm – Oscar de la Renta crochet cardi

katyawilsher — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:28:53 +0000

Last Sunday I started a new crochet project. Well, it’s not new to me, as it is my third attempt, first two attempts failed because I wasn’t happy with the yarn I chose. This time the yarn is luxury itself, 100% silk from colourmart, in navy blue. It is a classic colour and I hope to wear the cardi a lot.

Colourmart 40/120NM DK silk 87 french navy

This is the object of my long-time obsession: Oscar de la Renta inspired crochet cardigan with ribbons. It is from 2010 collection, it is sooo pretty, I can’t resist it. I fell in love with it at the first sight. I adore the ribbons, such a simple thing to do that transforms a simple cardigan into something special.

Oscar de la Renta crochet cardigan

This is also a challenge. Some friends invited me to the ballet, it is in 10 days time, and I want to wear my new cardi. And as I am still in the Alpes, I will have to order all my supplies on-line. I have already bought some yarn from colourmart, I also got some ribbon samples from ebay. In addition to the cardi I also want to sew a quick pencil skirt. I have already ordered my fabric, on-line again, and hope it will arrive today. It is a rather ambitious plan, we’ll see what will come off it. So far I managed to crochet half of the body. Next thing on my list is to choose and order ribbons.

Oscar de la Renta cardigan

The last thing to mention is that it is part of the CAL from club.osinka.ru, where as usual girls from osinka share their ideas and photos of finished garments.

Golden Dreams Hat – new pattern release

katyawilsher — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:20:41 +0000

I have released a new pattern, Golden Dreams hat, to match Golden Dreams scarf.

Hat is knit in DK weight yarn, purple hat is shown GGH Wollywash yarn, which is 100% merino wool, and the white hat is shown in RYC Luxury Cotton, which is 50% cotton, 45% viscose and 5% silk (it is a lovely summer yarn, but unfortunately it is now discontinued.

You will need less than 2 balls of yarn for this project. And you can either follow the chart or written instruction for the stitch pattern.

Golden Dreams hat

Golden Dreams hat in white