AnsonHauenstein

Genever is a fun little colorwork hat that just makes me happy.  It was designed to celebrate my feature as the March Designer of the Month over at Stephen and Penelope , the charming yarn shop in Amsterdam owned by Malia Mather and Stephen West.  If you are in the area, do stop by and although I'm not actually there (snif), a few of my sample knits are! And if you decide to buy your yarn to make this FROM Stephen and Penelope , they have a special Ravelry code they'll give you for $2 off the pattern. That works either online or in person, and it won't expire, ever.  Because..  Genever - there should be some reward for purchasing your yarn for this in the country that made the predecessor to today's gin, shouldn't there be?  We OWE them, don't we?  Because gin.   The hat itself is a combination of travel memories for me.  I first found out about Genever when traveling to Amsterdam myself a few years ago - the time I met both Malia and Ste...

So, yes I did start off nice and slow, didn't I?  I haven't even managed to blog for an entire month. But I DID release two patterns I wanted to tell you about - again with the wonderful folks over at YOTH.  Last year, for Stitches West, we worked on the Vodka Collection, and we had said this would be the first in a few collaborations with Veronika and her lovely yarns. I'm looking at the different ways in which we all knit, and thinking about collections that would encompass the different kinds of knitters out there. The Vodka Collection was an exploration of the same shape of cardigan in 3 different ways, ranging from  some stockinette-heavy TV knitting to some  more committed cables - and you can read about those HERE . So THIS year, we wanted to do another collection and I wanted to look at different types of knitters again, but this time in terms of the types of yarn we pick.  I started with big goals - another 4 (or even 5!) pieces, each in a different we...

So yep, January went by without a single new pattern release.  Which is actually OK by me. I have decided that 2018 is going to be the year when I kind of take charge again and knit what I want, when I want - out of the yarns I want to be working in.  I have two more deadlines to meet, and I've been busily working towards them in the background without making myself crazy to release a new pattern or two in the foreground at the same time.  I'm giving you guys time to catch up too, right? My plan is to maybe release a little less, but to be sure each piece is something I love, that I really think you'll love and that I can be really proud of  this year.  No more cranking something out by X date just for some exposure or the chance to work on a particular project, or squeezing  just one more thing into a time frame and then making the yarn do something that works because I don't have more time to keep thinking about it!  But - we'll see how that goes.......

Although this one is new to many of you, it's actually not a brand new design to me.  I designed the Blackthorn Cowl for the Neighborhood Fiber Company Inner Loop Club in 2016!  It was mid summer when the club was over, so the cowl waited until Fall 2017 - but then a whole bunch of things happened this Fall that made us wait until now.  Phew!  It's pretty perfect for right now though. And right now, Neighborhood Fiber has a wonderful yarn that works perfectly as a substitute for the Skyline Aran - their  Studio Chunky .  It really shows off Karida's gorgeous saturated colors and it's lovely and squishy and perfect for a chunky, bold cowl like this.  Serious texture, simple lace, a few eyelets, and a fantastically satisfying yarn.  I promise. And because it's taken me such a while to get this out, even though a few of you were asking, the code BLACKTHORN will get you $2.00 off the $6.00 price until end of day on 1/16/2018.  enjoy!

You all know how I feel about 2017, but it made it just a little easier to know that I could use my voice and my needles to try to help make a difference in some small way.  As promised last January, I decided that every 3 months or so, I would release a pattern where a portion of the proceeds would support an organization I think does important work to protect and support things I feel are at risk right now. Thanks to you, $350  went to Women of Tomorrow out of sales of Rob Roy .  (and Dami of Magpie Fibers was able to give even more from her yarn sales of Domestic Worsted!)  Women of Tomorrow helps teenage girls from the inner cities get to college with mentoring, scholarships, and guidance. $450 went to the Malala Fund out of Mamie Taylor sales. The Malala Fund is dedicated to bringing education to girls around the world, especially in countries where they are already at a disadvantage. $150 went to Cradles to Crayons from London Fog . Cradles to Crayons gives ...

I have a hard time stopping when I get a hat design in my sights, so in addition to Laphroaig, these two ended up on my needles as well. And if you are like me, you may have a hard time choosing only ONE to knit, so the Ravelry Code GIFTHATS will take $3.00 off the total if you purchase both! Glenfidditch was Craig's second gift.  He wanted a hat to cover his ears, in addition to that scarf.  And I had this gorgeous skein of Wisconsin Woolen Spun wool in stash just staring at me.  And it looks so good with the Artifact in Laphroaig, right?  Glenfidditch features  twisted cables placed in larger open cables, a simple diagonal detail at the brim and a pretty cool crown decrease.  And it's just beautiful in a heathered yarn like the Woolen Spun.  Since that's available in limited quantities, I also suggest Green Mountain Spinnery's Weekend Wool , knit up here in a few colors by my friends Larissa and Kate, and then they were modeled by the   ...