June15

Lá Bealtaine was designed for Wooly Wonka Fibers’ Celtic Year club, inspired by the Gaelic May Day festival Beltane – one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals at which special bonfires were kindled. Lá Bealtaine is the Irish Gaelic name for Beltane.
The pattern includes three sizes for this design: a shoulder wrap with buttons, a scarf and a rectangular stole.


May3

The Wriggle Mitts were designed for Shall We Knit’s retreat in January 2019, using the featured yarn that attendees received in their goodie bag. Another local designer (Lynne Sosnowski) and I were challenged to each design a new pattern using Shibui Knits yarns. I created these mittens and Lynne designed a cowl called Portable Hole.
The mittens are knit with two fingering weight yarns held together to create a marled effect. The sample was knit using a chainette yarn (Shibui Knits Maai) and a beautiful hand painted silk mohair yarn (Riverside Studios Kidsilk).
If you don’t want to knit with two yarns held together, you will need 160 metres of a yarn that knits up to 7 stitches to 2.5 cm on 3.5 mm needles.

May2
I’ve neglected this blog since my mother passed away. Enough time has passed and I feel the designing bug returning so it is time to get back to posting about here about designing, knitting and books. With that in mind, I present the S Curve Cowl, a design that was designed for Shall We Knit?’s retreat in November 2017, using the featured yarn that attendees received in their goodie bag.

Lynne Sosnowski and I were challenged to each design new pattern using the same yarn. I created this buttoned cowl and Lynne designed Benmiller Rendezvous Mitts.
This cowl is knit with two fingering weight yarns held together to create a marled effect. The sample was knit using a hand painted, speckled yarn (Koigu Painter’s Palette Premium Merino KPPPM) and the luscious and decadent Filatura Di Crosa Superior.
The contrasting trim at the end of the cowl is achieved by knitting with the hand painted yarn only. The length of the cowl can easily be adjusted by knitting additional repeats of the main stitch pattern.

December25

Wishes for a peaceful and joyous holiday season to you and your loved ones. May this time of celebration refresh your heart and spirit.

December12
On November 26 I posted my stranded colourwork picks for this year’s Indie Designer Gift-A-Long but I had so many selections I decided to break it into two posts. Here’s part 2.
What is the Gift-A-Long? The GAL is a big knitting and crochet designer promotion with prizes and more than 5,000 people participating in a giant KAL/CAL. Come join the GAL group on Ravelry!
December7
I find literature a great inspiration when designing. In fact, I’ve designed several pieces based on works of fiction: Sargaço Shawl, Whitman Cowl, Taming of the Fox, and Stacks Socks.
Here are my picks of some other #giftalong2016 designs inspired by works of fiction.
What is the Gift-A-Long? The GAL is a big knitting and crochet designer promotion with prizes and more than 5,000 people participating in a giant KAL/CAL. Come join the GAL group on Ravelry!
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December4
As we get further into December, there are some very grey and dreary days. Gift-A-Long has some fantastically cute and funny patterns, the perfect thing to combat an overcast day. The challenge here was paring the list down to these selections.
What is the Gift-A-Long? The GAL is a big knitting and crochet designer promotion with prizes and more than 5,000 people participating in a giant KAL/CAL. Come join the GAL group on Ravelry!
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December2
Whether you’re a fan of Harry Potter, Doctor Who or Firefly, the Indie Gift-A-Long has something for everyone. Here are some of my pattern picks that celebrate various fandoms.

Guinan by Akua Lezli Hope AkuaDesigns
What is the Gift-A-Long? The GAL is a big knitting and crochet designer promotion with prizes and more than 5,000 people participating in a giant KAL/CAL. Come join the GAL group on Ravelry!
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November28
I love period dramas and will happily watch a marathon of Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, The Miss Fisher Mysteries or The Paradise. Many of these feature fantastic knit or crochet garments and all have inspired designers with their aesthetic. Here are some of my picks for those who desire a bit of vintage style with their knitting/crochet.
What is the Gift-A-Long? The GAL is a big knitting and crochet designer promotion with prizes and more than 5,000 people participating in a giant KAL/CAL. Come join the GAL group on Ravelry!
November26

The worlds converged – Gift-A-Long2016 and Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday are all happening at once this year. Want to find the best deal on my designs? All the details on my sale, which coupon to use and links to the designs are here.
Thank you for all your support of my designs and small business.
