Noro Blossom Turtleneck - free pattern

Yarn: Noro Blossom , 8 skeins of colour 19 *A* (burgundy, rose and pink), and 2 skeins of 20 *B*(Purple, aqua and green)

Needles: 5mm (US 8)

Gauge: 12 stitches and 17 rows = 4 inches on 5mm(US8)

Finished measurements: Chest 40 inches, length from shoulder: 24 inches

PATTERN:

Back: With main colour (A), cast on 56. Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 2 inches. On the last row, increase 3 stitches across the row. Change to stocking stitch (Knit the right side and Purl the wrong side throughout), work 15 stitches in (A), then add a ball of (B) and knit 7, Then add another ball of (A) and knit 15, Repeat with (B) for 7 then a final ball of (A) for 15. You will work the whole piece with 5 balls of yarn, alternating A,B,A,B,A and twist the new yarn around the last yarn so as not to leave a gap.

You continue knitting in the pattern vertical stipes with these yarns for 16.5 inches, then bind off 5 stitches at the start of the next 2 rows (armhole shaping for the sleeve placement)

Work straight again until the total length is 24 inches from the start. Bind off all stitches.

Front: Work the same as the back, through the armhole shaping, until total length is 21 inches.

neck shaping: Work across until the center (A) block is reached. Bind off all these 15 stitches, and work across the rest of the row. On the next row, decrease ONE stitch at each side of the neck edge. Continue to knit both sides of the front piece until the length matches the back (24 inches). Bind off the remaining stitches on both shoulders.

Sleeve: With colour (A) cast on 25 stitches, and rib for 2 inches. Change to stocking stitch, knit with just (A) increase one stitch at each end of the row, every 6 rows, until 46 stitches are on the needles. Continue even until the sleeve measures 21 inches (or desired length - I have long arms!) Bind off all stitches. ** on my sleeves I used a bit of leftover colour (B) as a stipe in the middle of each sleeve, kind of randomly placed, just for fun (and certainly optional).

Join shoulder seams and using short circular needles (or double point needles) in 5mm (US8), pick up 58 stitches evenly around the neck. Start a K1, P1 ribbing, work around and around and around until turtleneck is 7.5 inches long, or as long as you want (1 inch would make a nice crew neck). Bind off very loosely. Sew the sleeve straight into the flat part of the armhole, and the short bit of bind off to the first inch of the sleeve. Then join from the wrist to the hip.

Cool New Stuff

I decided to sign up for the yarn sample subscription from Elann. They send once a month, 10 yard yarn samples from each of the tuesday special releases, and small snippets of all the colours available. This would allow a swatch to be knit (and played with) before a decision to order the yarn. The cost of this service is minimal AND you get all of that amount back in credits towards future purchases of yarn.... and this is what arrived today.

I like that the yarn samples are colour co-ordinated, so it all looks so nice together, and there is enough to really feel the yarn. The danger is that I will want them ALL. Even I cannot knit a new garment every week.

I also finished the Noro Blossom turtleneck and I think it is one of my favourite finished projects ever. The pattern is in the works and will arrive here in one or two days...

The long weekend was a treat for us. We spent two nights at Peak'n Peak in western NY. The resort is primarily a ski resort, at the base of many slopes and lifts. We had a one bedroom condo, overlooking the lower golf course (hole number 7) and it was quite lovely. We played golf (of course) on the lower and upper course, and the views were spectacular.....

as you can see. We had some great eats and some $1 drafts and watched fireworks, all to celebrate our wedding anniversary! (the fireworks weren't actually for OUR anniversary, that was just a happy coincidence!).

On the drive to the resort and back I started and got half way up the back of the Esprit Seed Rib pullover that is my next design. This yarn is fun to knit since it is cotton (nice to the touch) but has a bit of stretch to it, so the cotton sweater does not stretch out longer and longer, the longer you wear it! (not a big fan of most 100% cotton handknits because of that.)

Wednesday Update

I have almost finished the Noro Blossom turtleneck, and I am actually looking forward to the cold weather, so I can wear this. The colours are of course, Noro-licious, and the Blossom yarn is seriously soft. I have only to sew the shoulder seams, and add the big, loose turtleneck, then the side seams and I will be cranking up the air conditioner to take photos of this puppy! The pattern, you will see, is very easy and knits up quickly on 5mm needles.

This

came in the mail from Elann. An impulse buy for sure, as they lured me in with a one-day-only full-bag-sale of Esprit (my favourite cotton stretch yarn) for $20 a bag of 10 balls. This will make a full sweater, with left overs for headbands or hats.

My knitting girls and I have planned a field trip (put off for a few weeks due to pending vacation trips of two members). We will visit our local alpaca farm, where we will meet the lovely animals and tour the farm, then sit down and try our hand at spinning and fondle (and buy) the local alpaca yarn products. This intriques me as I have always wondered how easy it is to spin my own yarn, and it scares me that I may end up using precious knitting time to actually spin and create MORE yarn for my stash, thus increasing the stash to infinite proportions! Still, I think I need to see and feel this ancient art. Who knows, I may find room in my back yard for a fleece producing animal of my own, and complete the whole circle of fleece-sheer-spin-dye-knit and wear a truly hand made garment....

Colinette Quick Wrap

I still have to finish the Colinette Coat (buttons and ends sewn in), but in the meantime, I have been working up a quick wrap from the left over skeins, and this is the result...

Colinette Wrap:

Yarn: One skein of Colinette Tagliatelli, and 2 skeins of Colinette Crysallis. (Or any combination of chunky leftover Colinette yarns, the more the merrier!)

Needle: 10 mm (Us 15) circular needles. I use Denise so that I can make it longer as the wrap grows.

Pattern: Starting at the center back neck: cast on 9 sts. K3, K1, place marker, k1(center st),K1, k3
Row 2 and all wrong side rows, k3, purl to last 3 sts (slipping marker as you pass it), k3
The first and last 3 stitches for the whole thing will be k3 (garter stitch edging).
Next row: K3, Yarn Over, K to marker, YO, slip marker, K1(center st), YO, K to last 3 sts, YO, K3
Repeat last 2 rows, increasing with a Yarn Over, inside the edgings and each side of the center stitch. (4 increases every right side row), and Purling these yarn overs on the wrong side. this makes a row of lacey holes at the edge and at the center, which you can see in the photo at the bottom....
If you have more than one yarn, change yarns at the edge every 4 inches (or whenever you want, mine is quite random, yarns changed when I got bored).
When the wrap is as long as YOU want...
 End with 4 rows of k1, p1 ribbing, then cast off all stitches-LOOSELY!!!!


Dampen and block so that the whole thing is loose and lacey and chunky and drapey!

Noro Blossom Turtleneck

Although Ihave had less knitting time, what with wrok, golf and impending visitors (thus laundering sheets and towels, cleaning bathrooms and dusting guest rooms, shopping for extraordinary food stuff and wines - all to appear a naturally good host). I did start the next stash project, a wooly turtleneck from the Noro Blossom picked up in the tent sale at Needle Emporium last month.... The start went well and as I imagined in the mind and drawings of the design a few weeks ago. The back is like this...

and I have begun the front in the same 5 panel stripe. The larger three panels are from the burgundy Blossom, and the 2 smaller ones are purple. I managed to grab 10 balls of burgundy mix and 3 of the purple. More than enough for a long sleeve pullover with a large loose turtleneck. Hard to imagine wearing it now, but no doubt we will find ourselves cold again one day in a few months and I will turn to this with a cozy sigh. Right now the colours are very energizing and I knit with joy. I have always found satisfaction in the unfolding of the Noro colours. How can anyone not love this?

The Books Arrived!

I got the package in the mail, and opened it to find this.....

10 copies of my first book, Chris Knits. There are 15 patterns with photos and complete knitting instructions in a small softcover glossy book... I feel the impulse to have a book launching wine and cheese party! Seriously, it is SO easy to use Blurb.com and create one of your own, and I have been imagining so many fun examples of how this service could be used. Very pleased with the service, communications and even the delivery tracking on the website, that informed me the box was leaving the USA, had arrived in Canada and was in customs... nice details.

Update, Golf and Tagliatelli

No blogging for a few days, and time for an update. First, it was a long weekend here in Ontario, and we celebrate by getting outside and enjoying the amazing, hot, summer days. Rick and I chose to participate in our Club Championships at our golf club. It is three days of intense competition, with 5 hour rounds and cheering beer drinkers on the patio to welcome you at the 18th green. I played for the first time in the Ladies Senior Open category, as I am a freshly minted senior golfer (50 and over). Being the rookie, I had only expectations to compete at a respectable level and not blow up and run crying from the course. I was playing with some pleasant ladies, all but one were familiar to me, and all welcomed the newbie to the group. I played a steady 87 on the first day and lead the field by 2, then 88 on the second day and lead by 5! No one was more surprised than me. It felt comfortable and easy, and I totally enjoyed the long hot days with these gals. The last day, I suddenly felt the nerves. I imagined hitting the ball three times into the pond on seven, and losing the ball in the woods on thirteen and not successfully clearing the creek on sixteen. All of these scenarios could lead to the choke of the century, but no, I played a bit shaky but steady and won by 6 strokes! The win has me representing my club at the district Championship in September...

Of course the long golf days left little time for knitting, but I did whip up a Colinette Tagliatelli Coat over the last week and I am just finishing up the sewing of ends and the buttons, and will likely post the pattern in a day or two, now that my golf glory high is coming down....