photo Jane Richmond_zpsux4wawxl.png

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Off the Needles: Classic Raglan Pullover for Ladies


This project has been on my mind since I published the Classic Raglan Pullover for children back in March of 2010. I loved Elsie's little pullover so much and have wanted to make one for myself ever since. This fall has been the season of powering through my To-Do list and it feels so good to mark this one done. 



I've also been craving a comfy pullover with a bit of room since the temperature has dipped, so I was really pushing to get this off the needles and into my wardrobe. With my favorite scarf, it's the perfect outer layer on those fall days that are mild enough to go without a coat. 



Because the size range is so huge I've tried something brand new. The pattern is written with Fill-in-the-Blanks so that you only have to follow your size as you work. I really enjoyed working from the pattern. It was much easier to follow without a list of 11 different sizes at every turn, and because measurements are given for metric and standard... that's 22 numbers for every set of instructions! 



If you would like more detailed information about the pattern you can visit the pattern page, or...

Monday, November 28, 2011

New Hair

Today I had all of my hair cut off...



I have a ponytail 16 inches long to donate...

(My hair is in the bag, it was too creepy to photograph)


The last time my hair was this short was 15 years ago :) 
It was time for a change. It's a huge load off and I am so excited about the donation.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Black Friday



In honour of Black Friday and the beginning of holiday madness I thought I would host a holiday sale! From now until December 31st, choose 3 patterns from my Ravelry Pattern Store or Etsy Shop and only pay for 2! Here's how it works...

Ravelry
  1. Visit my Ravelry Pattern Store
  2. Add 3 of my patterns to your cart
  3. In the shopping cart window enter this coupon code : 3for2
How to enter your coupon code...

Next to the "checkout now" button in your shopping cart window, click on "use a coupon code" and enter "3for2", once you hit "apply" you will immediately see your discount for the additional pattern.  

Etsy 
  1. Visit my Etsy Shop
  2. Add any 2 patterns to your cart
  3. During checkout, enter 3for2 into the "Note to janerichmond" field found underneath your items, also let me know which pattern you would like to receive as your free pattern. 
Rules about your coupon code for Etsy..

Your free pattern selection must be of equal or lesser value than the patterns you've purchased, if not, your coupon code will be null and void. Coupon code must be entered during Etsy checkout not Paypal.  



Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Off the Needles: Kathleen


As I mentioned before, everyone in my family seems to be in need of new woollies this winter. I've knit two new hats for Elsie plus a pair mitts, a hat for Chris and one for his mother. 


My sister has also requested a new hat.  Kathleen was designed, and named, for her (Kathleen is her middle name). I like to wear my hats slouchy, B wears hers with the brim folded up. When I'm designing for her I tend to use deep ribbing so that the brim can be worn up without showing the wrong side of the cables. Once it was finished and photographed I had to wear it out just once before giving it away, and that's when I fell in love and decided I couldn't part with it. 


 It's a fun knit and really comfortable to wear. The gauge of the fabric is perfect for a nice springy slouch that isn't too droopy in the back. It took me a while to find a yarn that I liked for the stitch pattern I had swatched. I am very happy with the way that Cascade 220 performs in this project, it's the perfect yarn for cable work.


If you would like more detailed information about the pattern you can visit the pattern page, or...

...and don't worry, B understands. I've promised to make her another hat, she'll just have to wear her Elizabeth in the meantime.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Random Pic of the Day...

{ Tea Party }

This photo was taken back in February. I finally bought an external hard drive and for the last few months I've been slowly making space on my computer (hoping that it will run faster). I've dug up so many gems that I forgot ever taking. 

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Hair


I'm doing something I've never done before, I'm donating my hair. I'm pretty lazy about cutting it. I normally go a year without a cut, if not longer. When it gets long enough that only elaborate braids will keep it contained, I know it's time to chop some off. My sister recently took the plunge and had her gorgeous hair cut short. She was planning to donate it but realized after the fact that it might not be long enough to donate. It got me thinking, why had I never thought to donate my hair? I was overdue for a cut and stretched it out a little longer so that I would have more to donate. I now have 28 inches of hair and an appointment on November 28th to have it loped off, I'm really excited to put it to good use. I wanted to blog about it because if it weren't for my sister mentioning it in passing, it may never have crossed my mind. I have a ton of hair and it's easy for me to cut off a bit more than I normally would, I'm putting this out here in case you have the same and like me, hadn't realized there was a need. 

. . .

I am sending my hair to the hair donation program listed on the BC Cancer website, 
these are their guidelines:  

  • Hair must be in a ponytail with elastics or ties at both ends (not loose or braided)
  • Hair must be a minimum of 8 inches in length
  • Hair must be untreated (no colour or perms)

The requirements for hair donation (length, treated vs. untreated hair, etc.) vary depending on where you donate so I would highly recommend doing your research FIRST before getting your hair cut. In my searching I found this page listing many of the big donation programs complete with requirements for each (some of these programs will accept treated hair so take a look if you're worried you don't qualify!).

Wish me luck!


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Rae KAL : Winners!

So we've wrapped up our Rae KAL and last night was the last opportunity to get your entries in for the prizes we're giving away. Without further ado, let me announce the winners...

Our first place winner is ZombieQueenie! 
Congratulations, you've won a luxurious skein of SweetGeorgia Cashluxe Fine in the colour of your choice!

Our Second place winner is Gawna83!
Congratulations, you've won one of my screen printed yarn ball bags + your choice of any three of my patterns!

Our Third place winner is Susanlbridges!
Congratulations, you've won any three of my patterns!

. . .

Thanks again to all who participated, this knit along has been a blast! I hope to do another in the future!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Rae KAL : Ending

The Rae Knit Along has been loads of fun. I can't say that I will have my Saltwater Rae complete by tomorrows deadline, and if you are in the same boat, that's a-okay because you don't need to complete your Rae in order to enter the giveaway. So snap a pic and get your entry in here...




Please be sure to read the rules at the top of the thread before entering. Jump back and read THIS post for a full list of prizes to be won!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Rae KAL : Stalled

I have some bad news.

I ran out of yarn for my Saltwater Rae.

You see Shannon and I both bought one gorgeous skein of Tough Love Sock in Saltwater and because the yardage is greater than the pattern called for we decided to use a scale and get the most out of our skein. 

I cast on at a coffee shop as soon as I had purchased the yarn, normally I would have weighed it first and then begun the project. I was so eager to wear this that I was knitting like crazy and taking my Rae everywhere just to get a few stitches behind me. I knew that I could go past the recommended number of center stitches because I had more yardage so I kept knitting away until our weigh in night.

I brought my scale to Knit Night and kept weighing my ball until I reached the halfway weight (the tag said the full skein weighed 4oz). We determined our magic number was 78 stitches so Shannon and I kept knitting away under these instructions. Shannon ran out of yarn not long after she reached her center. Her gauge was way looser than mine and her Rae was a good inch or two longer at the center point. 

My mistake, because I was getting gauge, was long and drawn out. I didn't run out of yarn until the very, very end. I think I may have had 28 stitches when it became very clear that I wasn't going to make it. I tried decreasing faster but quickly came to the end of my ball so I unravelled a bit and tried to decrease faster sooner. I still ran out of yarn and it's a blessing that I did because I would not have been happy with my Rae this way. I bound off the stitches and put my Rae to bed for a while, I didn't want to be mad at it, it hadn't done anything wrong.
. . .
 
So for those of you who may have run into a similar problem at some point in your knitting life (or for those that we might be able to spare), I will highlight a few crucial points that will make all the difference when weighing your ball to use every last inch.

Weigh your skein first - take off the ball band or remove the tag and weigh your skein before you begin. Often times a skein will weigh a little more than is written on the label. If you have already begun your project you can still weigh it, just be sure to have the entire project and working yarn on the scale for accuracy (not dangling off the edge) and don't forget to remove any extra weight (needles, stitch markers, etc). 

If you ignore this step (like me) and carry on by weighing your ball periodically to reach the halfway mark (calculated using the weight on the tag) and your skein happens to weigh more than what the tag says (like mine did) than you will absolutely go past your actual halfway mark and run out of yarn at the very end. Not fun!

If this still isn't making much sense, let me throw in some numbers... 

Following the tag only, my skein weighs 4oz which means I've reached halfway when my ball weighs 2oz. If I had weighed my skein I would have know that I had 4.25oz of yarn and that I would have to stop sooner, when my ball weighed 2.125oz.

It's a simple concept, and I somehow messed it up for not just me but for Shannon too! I should know better. 

On this one, I blame the designer.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Off the Needles: Shannon

My friend Shannon leftover Lion Brand Thick & Quick from her and  Gap-tastic Cowl
and was having trouble finding another cowl pattern that she liked. I thought it would be fun to design something for her leftovers, the funny thing is, she had the same idea! Check out her Carefree Cowl Tutorial

 
And here is what I designed for her... 


This was the original because I had the yarn in my stash, 
but I knew I wanted a lighter colour to show off the cables.
Shannon loves cables. 



 

For full details on this design visit the Pattern Page.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Hand-Knits


As you may know, I write knitting patterns. From time to time I am approached about my samples and unfortunately they are not for sale. What you may not know is that there are a few Etsy Shops that have been granted permission to make and sell items made from my patterns.

I wanted to share with you a few of my favorites. First up is Robyn Devine of... 




 She carries Nicholas in a variety of colours!


She also stocks a ton of simple knits in many different colours, I think that Robyn's pieces are so wearable. Here is a sample of other items she offers in her shop...

From Top to Bottom:

Robyn is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She cranks out knitting at an alarming rate and her shop is fully stocked, but what you may not know is that of every sale she makes $20 dollars is donated to Charity : Water. On top of this she's set a goal to make and donate 10,000 hand-knits for charity in her lifetime. So if you're thinking of giving the gift of hand made this year and don't know how to knit, think about stopping by the Minimalist Knitter because these hand-knits really are gifts that keep on giving. 

Robyn, you make us all want to do more!

. . .

Next up is Shawna Granville of...

 
Pattern :: Elizabeth

Pattern :: Autumn


 I love that the names of these items were inspired by where they came from. 
 Here are just a few of the other items she carries in her shop...  


It was really hard to choose just three to diplay here, you'll have to stop by her Etsy Shop to see the rest!

Thank you Shawna for being so amazing and considerate, you do such an awesome job with your shop. I love sending people your way!

. . .

...and if you're looking for an Autumn hat Jill Lauren offers so many different colours!


 
 For a complete list of Etsy Shops that sell hand-knits made from my patterns visit my Shop Policies page. If you are a knitter and would like to sell hand-knits made from my patterns please contact me at janerichmonddesigns@gmail.com.