Long Time

I have been incredibly negligent of this blog and unfortunately it probably won't see all that much action in the coming months either as we are expecting our second child in a mere seven weeks. With a bit of luck, I'll get some more patterns uploaded, but the Knitty Keen Etsty store probably won't see any action until this summer.

Drumroll please...

The Knitty Keen Etsy Shop is now open for business!

Dyeing to See it!

Yes, I'm going to work that pun for all it's worth. I finally got around to taking decent pics of the yarns I dyed last week. I'm planning on doing a few more this afternoon so I can get the store stocked this weekend. Here's what's come out of the dye pot...

Aquamarine
100% Merino Wool, DK Weight
Kettle DyedI really like the way this one came out. It was supposed to be a Morning Glory colorway, but I had way too much water in the pot so everything blended so nicely. The yarn is so soft and it's hard not to stop petting it.


Morning Glory
100% Merino Wool, DK Weight
Kettle DyedThis was my first attempt at recreating a color way. I like it, but not as much as my first morning glory skein so I'll be messing a bit more with this.


Rouge et Blanc
100% Peruvian Wool, Worsted Weight
Hand PaintedWhen in doubt for a color name, go with a different language. This was a, "Let's see what happens," skein. I painted 75% of it with a dark, rusty red and at the ends it eases into pink tones before the cream. I'm looking forward to doing variations of this with different colors to see how it turns out.


Tropical Garden
100% Peruvian Wool, Worsted Weight
Hand PaintedI love the way the colors move on this skein - from a bright green to orange, yellow, medium green, dark blue-green and back again. I haven't looked at any pictures, but in my mind's eye it reminds me of a Bird of Paradise flower, or at least what it should look like. This one's a keeper.


Wood Sorrel
100% Peruvian Wool, Worsted Weight
Hand PaintedThis is my first attempt at mixing to make a specific colorway and I am very pleased with the results. I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show a while back and saw some purple wood sorrel and instantly fell in love with the colors. I'm planning on doing this colorway on some Merino/Silk fingering and some Peace Fleece tonight.

My most humble apologies

I was working up an Elegant Egg when I realized I made a glaring mistake in the pattern. I've fixed it and have uploaded a corrected version.

Elegant Eggs

No, it's not the pattern I said was coming. What can I say, I am easily sidetracked. Someone on one of my message boards asked me to share this pattern, so here it is.

Elegant Eggs

Enjoy and tell me what you think!

Patterns and Yarn Galore!

The Etsy shop stocking has been pushed back - with a bit of luck I'll have everything ready to go by next Monday. In the mean time, I leave you with the following pictures of two new patterns that will be going live this week as free downloads...

Handy Dandy Towel



I just finished making these up for a friend of mine to use as burp cloths and I plan to make myself some to use as hand towels in my kitchen. It uses the ever popular "Ball Band" dishcloth pattern with a garter stitch border at the top and bottom and an applied I-cord at the top ending in a loop with a button closure. The models were knit with Sugar & Cream Cotton on US Size 6 Needles. As shown the towels measure 9.5" wide and 13.5" long. Truly a handy-dandy item to have around in your kitchen or nursery!

To Drool For - Infant Bib




Again, I knit these up for my friend's baby. I got the inspiration from the Super Simple Bib pattern by Brandi Spray. I used increases rather than yarn-overs and incorporated a simple striping pattern. The bibs measure 7.75" wide and 5.5" long with a 10" long strap with several button holes for custom sizing. The models are knit from Bernatt Cotton Mill Ends and Sugar & Cream Cotton on US Size 6 Needles. This is such a fast project and a great way to use up your odds and ends of yarn from dishcloth projects - give a bunch to a baby you love today!

That's all folks - check back later for the patterns!

Hand-dye success!

Here's what I spent my Sunday doing...

Fingering, 80/20 Merino/Silk
Hand-painted





Fingering, Merino
Kettle-Dyed





Worsted, Merino
Kettle-dyed





Worsted, Merino
Kettle-dyed



I so love using my acid dyes. It takes a lot more prep-work than using Wilton's, but the actual dyeing process is quicker and I am loving the results. It is very interesting that I used the exact same stock mixtures for the two fingering-weight yarns and the difference came from the dyeing method. The hand-painted is very dark and exact while the kettle-dyed has a softer, washed-out look to it. I'm thinking Bengal as a name for the hand-painted colorway, and Sandstone or Autumn Wood as a name for the kettle-dyed colorway. Aquamarine is a logical name for the turquoise-colored skein, so I think that's a keeper. Nothing screams out to me for the Blue/Green/Yellow one, the names I have bumping around my head all seem cumberson or don't do the color combination justice.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I am going to try to recreate the two kettle variegateds tonight or tomorrow night. I took lots of notes, so lets hope that is enough.

Thanks for looking!

Well, you asked for it....

Here's the link to my Etsy storefront. I have a lot of personal knitting to burn through this week, but I'm hoping to get some work done on my patterns and yarn before the end of the month. I'm doing up some kettle-dyed variegateds on Sunday, so I'll have some pictures up by tomorrow night.

Just a little update...

My kitchen scale arrived on Friday and my yarn came on Saturday. I'm hoping to mix some dyes and get a few skeins of hand-painted done this week. I'm planning on putting things up in the Knitty Keen Etsy Shop by the end of the month.

I will also have a few new patterns available as free downloads by the end of the month as well, but you'll have to wait until they are posted.

In the works

My dye has arrived and as soon as I get some yarn, I'll be doing up some handpainted and space-dyed yarns to sell in my Etsy store. I will also be selling stitch markers and some of my patterns. Here's a preview of one that is coming soon -

Frogs in my pocket
(or on my coffee cup in this case)

Free Pattern - Neck Warmer

Honest - I'm still alive.

Much has been happening and much knitting (and a little bit of frogging too, let's be honest) has been going on. My husband lost his neck warmer on his way home from work the other day so I finally had the kick in the pants excuse I needed to get one finished so I could take some decent pictures and get the actual measurements. I did make several of these for Christmas presents this year, but they were started on the morning of the day they were to be given, so pictures and measurements (pretty crucial to a pattern) were not to be had.

Here it is in all it's neck warmer glory being modeled by my friend M. It is a very quick knit and only uses about 100yds of worsted-weight yarn although your own mileage may vary. Like it, hate it, ambivelant - let me know! Thanks for looking!

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Update: November 5, 2009

Since Geocities is now defunct, my patterns are being hosted at Ravelry. You can download the PDF directly from the Ravelry Neck Warmer pattern page. Not a member of Ravelry? You really should be. It's an incredible resource and FREE so what's not to love? Still not feeling the Ravelry love? Leave a comment and I'll email a copy of the pattern to you.

Thanks!