Dexter left the house

....it's 'only' 4 weeks that I last wrote here...yay!!!
maybe I can keep going on this way...1 post a month should be doable.... ;)

 

the pattern is published and I am happy to hear (and see...hahaha)  that some of you already started their very own Dexter 

it is a versatile, cute cardigan that can be worn with jeans, or your favorite summer dress

 for the red sample I worked with easyknits.co.uk Arcadia a lovely alpaca base that comes in some really, really beautiful colours 

there are so many other things going on at the same time right now (seams that this is usual behaviour for my life for quiet a while now)

running 5 testknits at a time (2 public - go and have a look through the test threads in the group ...and 3 secret ones)...I should quit my dayjob....

today another long kept secret was published

 

Arcade  was a perfect collaboration between kettleyarnco.co.uk and me...

Linda does such a glorious dyejob... (I am only a knitter...not a dyer...and I am impressed by those lovely colours one can do)

it's not usual that all is going smooth within such collaborations, but this one was pure pleasure for me...I just had to create a new sweater...everything else ( and I bet there was a lot of work behind) was done by Linda...

go and check out her beautiful yarns here...

you won't regret it , I swear ;)

some more designs with her lovely Islington Dk base will show the next days, stay tuned and check out The Boardwalk Collection

love ya' all

Isabell

 

 

it's been a while.....but you all know me ....I am still knitting (hahaha)

I won't try to talk about all the crazy things that happened since my last blog post....this post would be HUUUUUUUGE, and as always time is a rare thingy at the moment

I am doing testknits at the moment...YAY!...testknitting was so rare for me the last months, and I seriously missed it
so.... the first testknit after a long time was this beautiful cardigan (finished this a while ago, but it's worth to be mentioned...!)

 

pattern. Naima by Ankestrick (aka Fallmasche)

yarn. finkhof-merinowolle-dünn a rustic, 'sheepy', low processed wool made in germany

loooved working with it (I used this yarn before for my wanderling and for my own version of phillipa) 

a few days ago I finished a sweater testknit for Justyna....think I have to wait until I am allowed to show it...just a few words about it...it's gorgeous, it's lacy, it's casual, it's blue (hahaha...only mine is blue), and it's soooooo utterly cool - just love it

I used 2 yarns held together and I swear I will use these yarns together again

they gave me such a cool and drapey fabric! 

ok....I used 1 strand Isager Bomulin, held together with Blackhill Pacalina (a thin linen/alpaca blend ...just gorgeous)

oh...just another thing before I have to leave for work.....Dexter will be ready for release very, very soon...so... all of you waiting for Dexter, make sure you keep an eye out for a bloody red (cute) cardigan♥

or for a light pink one???????

 

 hope you all have good days

love
isa m.

 

Gretchen

our dearly beloved "Bittersweet" was released this week!!!!!
finally!!!!!!!!! 

 

get your copy of the pattern here 

 

a simple but flattering top down raglan sweater with some cute eyelet increases down to the rounded hem... you might want to check out the glorious FOs of my dear testknitters here in the test thread

 

this one was the very first sweater i did in cooperation with Swans Island. I was overwhelmed by these wonderful colorways and impressed by the softness of their yarns (feels like knitting butter!) when i got some samples of their yarns early this year and it happened that the ideas came off my mind in no time

(2 kids sweaters will be published soon and currently we work on a colorwork collection....)

want to see a little sneak peek?????

 

this new yarn (all american fingering - Swans Island Yarns) feels like a little teddy bear and covers beautifully my lacking stranding skills (hahaha)

stay tuned, I will need some testers for this one aaand for another soon ;)

but now to some exciting news...i fear that they are not as exciting for you as they are for me...cannot think of other things the last days and today my heart goes out to....Joji

I will meet my dear Jo tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

after years and years knowing each other, we finally have the chance to meet in person, for me that means to get out of bed tomorrow very, very early in the moring...to take the train (I rarely take trains, so this is an excitement itself...hope i do not get lost...) to Frankfurt and spend the morning with Jo until she has to leave for Helsinki, isn't that cool?

Cathrin of WalkCollection (cwc on ravelry) and Melanie (mairlynd on ravelry) will join us too - bet we'll have a wonderful day together

i swear, i will come back soon to tell you more about a dream that will come true ;)

love,

isa m.

 

 

testknits part 2

....the  harder i try to keep the promise to post more regularly the less time i have to do so...

nevertheless,....here is the second part of the (latest) testknits i didn't show here

dessine-moi-un-mouton is a lovely light weight jumper, seamlesss, worked from the top down with raglan increases to shape the yoke.
an easy-peasy textured pattern makes it special and keeps you interested while knitting

 

love the stripes (and the texture) of this one!

but i think i need to redo the bottom and add a little length to this beauty, because i still feel uncomfortable wearing this cropped sweater

pattern. dessine-moi-un-mouton by LaMaisonRililie

yarn. holst-garn-supersoft-100-uld (you'll need 7 different colours) 

the next one is another winner designed by ankestrick (aka fallmasche on ravelry) 

light weight, colourful, extraordinary - just love it!

had a hard time choosing colors....so many possibilities...

 

you can wear this one inside out, or the other way round ...it's beautiful in every way ;) i already have a second one on my needles ;)

pattern. holsten by Ankestrick

yarn. holst-garn-supersoft-100-uld (shown in col. iced, clementine, bleached white)

the next one was a very special testknit i did for my dear Jo

a worsted version of her beloved boxy  

she published the pattern for this one on her birthday...as always i completely forgot to send her a gift for this day...and so i did a little embroidery to the back of my worsted boxy (...guess she loved it ;)

 

 

i did mine without the double garter part on the shoulders, also picked up my stitches for the sleeves and the neckband from the WS to highlight the "seams"....aaaand i did a 2-color version, just for the fun of combining colors ;)

pattern.worsted-boxy by JOJI

yarn. malabrigo-merino-worsted (shown in col. polar morn and ravelry red)

...need to go back to my knitting needles now (have to keep some tight deadlines for some new designs for fall)

hope you all have great days

love,

isa m. 

 

 

 

KC and WalkCollection

...finally the pattern for KC [Kynance Cove] is published!!!!
i had so much fun with the testing ladies (...and it's way easier
to launch a test in my ravelry group, than thought ...;)
Thank you, Ann for pushing this through ;)

please, please check out all these wonderful, fantastic, uber beautiful, amazing,.....projects 
i cannot say how much i loooove every single one of them!!!!



Cathrin from WalkCollection will have a shop update today 9 pm,
with adorable yarn kits (with pattern) for pre-order

the yarn kits are up, go and grab your yarn here in the shop

maybe you'd like to have a very first look ????

...aaaaand there will be a KAL (what???? a KAL!)in the group
starting 04/01, ending 05/31 and as this is the first KAL i host, everyone (YES! everyone) who finishes by the date will win a free
pattern (all of my patterns are eligible)

so come on ladies (and gents, of course ;)
join the fun here in the group 


have a great day

isa m.

....more stripes

don't know how to explain my love affair with stripes
i think i am addicted!!!!

last december Cathrin from WalkCollection offered me to use
her yarns for a new design - i sent her some sketches and we
decided to go with a casual, striped (....how extraordinary ;)
henley that matches her wonderful BFL dk 

then the hardest part of the work took part - deciding on colors!!!!

i had several combinations in mind, like:

• hey grey - pebbles - chartreuse
• sand - straw - pink candy
• secret - powder - masala

but finally we went with

• cement - tobacco - moana

and i absolutely loooove how this turned out.

the yarn itself is a pure pleasure to work with. soft and sturdy

with excellent stitch definition...and though i had so much other

things to do, this sweater went off my needles in no time...

my lovely testknitting ladies are currently testing this beauty

 - you can see some very, very promising sneak peeks in the 

testing thread of the group

while writing this post a thought crossed my mind.....

there are a few (maybe a little more..) testknits i didn't show

hmmmmm....i really need to get a better organization...

we'll see, maybe i can show these the next days  ;)

isa m.

new wool ....and a new hat

lately i got to test some little gems - lucky me!
i recieved a bag full of luscious skeins from lamana yarns
and in addition their new pattern booklet 

the yarn shown above is called cusco , 100 % pure alpaca and comes in a beautiful range of 28 (!!!) colors

again .... the little girl in me wanted .... pink!

this hat is just too lovely (pattern is in this booklet)- soft and cozy (touching this yarn is like touching a cloud...though i need to confess, that i never touched a cloud so far...hahaha!)

...there are some other yarns to try out in the bag...

first pic: perla a wonderful cotton/alpaca/silk blend
second pic: piura lace weight pure alpaca (soooo soft!)
third pic: nuro a worsted weight cotton/merino blend (...maybe a little too heavy for my taste)

 
and last: nazca a bulky weight merino/alpaca/polyamid blend
(there is already a sweater in my mind...we'll see...)
i need more time! that's the one and only thing that's true
...don't know how to get all those ideas out of my head
there are way too many for one knitters life!!!!







oh, and i would love to invite you all to join my new group.
a new group? yes, a new group! - finally there is a group for my designs at ravelry!!!!

i will announce test calls there, we could do KALs or just hang around and chat....

have great days out there

isa m.

Elementary

finally finished my last sweater
and i need to confess....i am in love!!!!

worked from the top down with an navajo inspired colorful yoke

in some really girlie colors!!!!

(somehow the little girl in me wanted PINK!)

lately i rediscovered the pleasure to work with

pure, rustic, low-processed yarns

love the feel of this yarn (and its smell ;))

....aaaand such yarns are perfect for those who have

not much practice in colorwork (like me!)

the pattern is now ready to test

and we have some free places in the testing pack

(maybe some of you could have fun with us testing the pattern?

deadline would be the end of january/beg of february....)

yarn. rustique fine/ masgot fine by Sylvie (PoloandCo)

needles. 3.0 mm and 3.5 mm

gauge. 22.5 sts x 30 rounds (10 x 10 cm)

you will need approx. 2 (2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4) skeins in main color

and 1 skein in each of the other colors

if you like to test this pattern, please leave a comment

(make sure to leave your email add or ravelry nickname!)

with the size you'd like to test

sizes available: xs, s, m1, m2, l, xl, xxl

(bust circumference: 85 (89, 94, 100, 108, 115, 124) cm)

....wishing you all calm and merry days

isa m.

Antler testknit

had the pleasure to do a testknit for Anke (aka fallmasche)
...aaaand had the pleasure to use TML again (love this yarn!!!!)

worked from the top down using contiguous set in sleeves method

developed by SusieM, this sweater has a stunning, beautiful 

neckline...love the garter st parts and the slightly rounded hem

had to alternate skeins from the very beginning, cause my skeins were so different (one was heavily darker than the other)

but i think it turned out nice, even with this differences in color

pattern. antler by ankestrick 

yarn. madelinetosh merino light col. gossamer and nutmeg

purchased here 

now i will need to take my sofa (...had a long day at work...)

happy creating out there and have a great sunday

love,

isa m.

Kinu love

a new sweater went off my needles a few weeks ago

tadaaaaa!!!

i bought this yarn at the raveler meeting in cologne this year..

i simply couldn't resist, when i saw all those beautiful little cones....

there was no special plan for this, so i went with blue and sand

(i know, i know,....not a brave color choice!)

spent some time with swatching...(Rililie! you can take my word for it, sometimes i do it!!!)

different needles, different needle sizes, single stranded,

doubled,....

and then this sweater came to my mind

simple shaping (subtle waist shaping), a wide rounded neckline,

simple (rather raw) edgings and... some stripes (how extra- ordinary!!!!...hahaha!)

i so loooove my new sweater!

...i did a second in woolen yarn, to see how the pattern works

with a less drapey yarn, and what can i say, it turned out great

love this one too ....;)

the only change was to add length to the sleeves

aaaand the stripe sequence is a little different,

other than that - the same sweater (how cool is that?)

the pattern will be ready to test the next days

...a few places in the test knitting group are available...

any volunteers out there in size L or XXL???

hope you all have good days,

isa m.

a new hat!!!!

had again the pleasure to testknit for Rililie 

we had so much fun while testing this little hat... ;)

in case you're in need of some fun today, check out our

conversation in the testing thread 

the key word is: swatch (hahaha!)

was the first time with this yarn (masgot fine) 

and what can i say.... immediately ordered some more for

a fair isle sweater i have in mind for a while....

i love the feel of this rustic, low processed, sheepy yarn

and i love Sylvies dyework (she will dye up some yarn for me

today...YAY!!!...so exciting!)

now to the pattern

a well thought and clearly written pattern, that leads you

through the pathlessness of basket weave worked in rounds

though i need to confess, that i am no basket weave knitter

(i know this by now!!!)...not that i do not love the look and

the behavior of this stitch...i need stitch patterns with

at least 1 or 2 rows of mindless knitting in the repeat...

i am a lazy knitter, you know  ;)

G. is hiking with the guys today, so i will have the day off ;)

....the plan is to work on my new cardigan

cables

garter

ribbing

contrast coloured trim

classic (but cool...i think)

have a great day out there

isa m.

beccs and some testknits

finally beccs has left the building!!!!
we had a good time testing the pattern - thank you ladies!
you all did such great jobs

beccs is an open front cardigan designed for upcoming autumn days

little cable panels travelling down the fronts make this cardigan

unique and fun to knit

knitting starts in the middle of the back neck, the back piece of the collar is worked first, then sts are picked up from the long side of the collar to work the cardigan top down with raglan increases.

get the pattern here

...working on some other new ideas (all at the same time!!!!

sometimes this makes my head spinning...)

there will be a rustic cabled cardigan in collaboration with 

De Rerum Natura (Thank you, Solenn!)

and a new sweater with .......stripes! what else ;)

aaaaand a little dress/ tunic will be ready within the next days

i also have a few finished testknits to show

first:

Cosy (me) designed by nadia

this perfect little cardi is part of an eBook called emmitouflage(s)

the eBook contains some wonderful garments for women and kids

all worked with De Rerum Natura yarns

sorry for this bad photo.....the light situation in the flat

is awkward! 

pattern. Cosy (me) 

yarn. gilliatt in col. poivre (this yarn is divine!)

needles. 4.5 mm

second:

laelia designed by Hanna 

a lovely lace flower pattern makes this cardigan so beautiful

i enjoyed the knitting from the very beginning to the end

pattern. laelia 

yarn. wollknoll-kammgarn 20/6 handdyed with ashford dyes

needles. 3.5 mm and 3.0 mm

third (and dearly beloved):

lipstick designed by my dear friend Jo 

a cute flattering cardigan....mine wanted to be a jumpper ;)

it was quite easy to modify the pattern:

i joined the front pieces with 3 additional sts to work in rounds

at approx. 20 cm from underarm

ktbl the center st of the front to match the front pattern

longer sleeves (plain Stockinette stitch)

pattern. lipstick 

yarn. wollknoll-strickgarn 8/3 handdyed with ashford dyes

needles. 5 mm and 4.5 mm

maybe i'll find the time to keep you updated... ;)

love,

isa m.

latest testknits part 3

now to the last two testknits i lately did...

i had the pleasure to knit another adorable boxy sweater for
my dear jo 
worked from the top down, with an amazing tubular cast on
(can you image that this was the first time i did a tubular cast on in my knitting life????)
skinny sleeves and plenty of ease for the body

after working with this beautiful handdyed green yarn
which i used for miyayo's Lin-Lin Shawl 
i was in need of a sweater in this color!
so i spend some time with undyed fingering and some ashford dyes
and here we are:

the only thing i changed was to shorten the body (only a little 

this time - final length from underarm 41 cm)

and i did a different bottom ribbing - just for fun

pattern. boxy-and-buttony by Joji Locatelli

yarn. wollknoll-kammgarn-20/6 (dyed with ashford dyes)

think i will wear this to dead! .... love, love, love my new sweater

the last testknit i did was an asymmetric triangular shawl

designed by sylvie (poloetcie on rav)

this shawl is very light and absolutely cozy and soft

the pattern will be available in cooporation with WalkCollection

in late september

pattern. la havane by Polo Sylvie 

yarns. holst-garn-samarkand and midara-silk-mohair and some

unlabled lace weight silk-cashmere blend for the lace section

now....i think i am ready with all those beauties i forgot to mention here....

the next tests are on the needles...

have a nice sunday ladies ;)

isa m.