AnsonHauenstein

These After Midnight Mitts are more pattern in my colorways with WEBS and Manos del Uruguay.   It's been fun to think about what kind of pattern showcases each yarn the best with these, and I am pretty happy with my choice for Smoky. The lines of this motif highlight the deep grays so beautifully, and they make for a wonderfully squishy fabric, which is kind of perfect and satisfying on your hands on a cold morning... I also like how the lines of the pattern allow me to play at the ribbings And around the thumb. The mitts are a super quick knit - and the pattern itself is extremely simple, just knits and purls!  I've included notes on how to modify these for both length or width.  A few test knits, and all the rest of the info is on the Ravelry page, where the PDF is available for $6.50 .  It's also on the "hands" section of the blog here. And an After Midnight IS a cocktail -- 1 oz bourbon .5 oz amaretto .5 oz creme de cacao Shake those 3 ingredients with ice an...

Just reknit in a pale gray - and re-released with my new layout, cleaner commentary, and updated measurements!  From now until Friday night, the code More Mango will get you $2 off the pattern!  And if you already purchased this on Ravelry and hadn't gotten around to making one, the new version will come from Ravelry and can be added your library. I loved this sweater on Maya.  The yarn, the texture, and the simple cable.  And I'd always wanted one of my own. But mine would be big and slouchy and the palest of grays. But you know, it's a time thing...  And a yarn thing, because I'm now in the habit of only buying what I'm going to design with, and why design a different bulky sweater because I really wanted THIS one?  No changes - same texture, same details.  Hence, the wait.  If it isn't a new design, it doesn't often get on the needles. That's one of the hard things about designing for a living, as opposed to doing it just for fun.  The fu...

A few things I found on the internet, while looking to see what I wanted to make for my table this year.  I'm always the host, and my crowd varies from about 18-26 people, depending on who's in  town each year and how many of their parents are here.  It's a mixed group of family and friends, often with my friends' family joining in so there are always new faces, and I kind of love starting off with a big bowl or pot of something to share... If you're celebrating this weekend, have a great Holiday and enjoy!  Here are a few links I found this year that sounded especially good: Pear Sangria  (I'm leaning towards this one this year...) https://www.lemontreedwelling.com/2014/10/pear-sangria.html Bourbon Spiked Hot Apple Cider (and I think this one would be good hot or cold)  http://www.vindulge.com/2014/11/bourbon-spiked-hot-apple-cider/ Champagne Punch with Ginger, Lemon and Sage  (I'd suggest leaving the ice ring out and putting cubes on the side so that...

Rusty Nail was a sweater I cast on to calm my nerves last Spring, as I watched things in the US start to tilt out of whack.  I didn't have the concentration for complex lace or cables, and I needed some soft, soothing yarn in a stockinette-heavy design for a change so that I could think while knitting. I purposely went to a Gather Here , a local yarn shop owned by a fantastic activist woman I know and respect and I purposely chose yarn from the Fibre Company/Kelbourne Woolens to support other strong, successful women in our industry that I believe in. Instead of doing a hat for charity this time, I'm donating $1 of each purchase of Rusty Nail from now until 2018 to Emily's List, a fantastic organization that's working hard to get progressive women all over the US to run for office.  When I sat down to knit this, the soft merino-masham-mohair fiber and the lovely simple stitches were exactly what I needed to focus on.  It was cozy and satisfying and had just enough det...

Two different patterns, Rum Daisy and Hot the Top have been at the center of my desk this past week or so!   They do look pretty good together, don't they? Rum Daisy is an old favorite of mine - I designed this in Jill Draper's Esopus yarn a few years back and have worn it tons since. However, Esopus is no longer available.  But you know what is?  MOHONK LIGHT!  And I really, really love Mohonk - so we decided to revisit the pattern and see how it looked if reknit in a new yarn, and I'm kind of in love.  I've been slowly updating some of my older patterns into my new format, so it seemed the perfect time to give Rum Daisy a little overhaul. New pics, new yarn, new format.  Right? I even bought 2 skeins of this to knit myself one when I have time...  (The blue shawl belongs to Jill and Mindy, who knit it and is the lovely model up above!).  To coincide with the relaunch of the pattern in the new yarn, Jill just updated her ETSY shop with al...

So, there's a project we've been working on in the background for a few months now and if you get the WEBS Catalog, you may already know about it. Steve and Kathy asked me last spring if I'd be interested in designing a BabyCocktails-inspired collection of colors in their Valley Yarns Superwash DK, which is a gorgeous merino yarn, hand dyed by the women of Manos del Uruguay.  I'm a huge fan of Manos, a women's cooperative that's done so much good for their community in Uruguay , and I do love Steve and Kathy of WEBS, so this sounded like fun. We came up with 6 colors - Shaken, With A Cherry, Herbal, Bittersweet, Smoky and Citrus.  (I'll let you guess which is which in the photo above).   And as the winter/spring goes on, I'll be releasing patterns that feature the yarn, trying to hit each and every color!  You can only find the yarn at WEBS  ( here's a link to the page) .  The first of these patterns are these two hats!  Perfectly timed if you are...