Housekeeping, and a surprise!

First of all, my Tea Party Stole is finished and out of preorder:

It is available for purchase on Ravelry for $4.99.

Also, the next pattern in my book, Nuts and Spice Shrug, is now in the testing.  It is also available for preorder for $3.99.  I think it turned out really nicely!

There, done housekeeping!  Now, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I'm actually slightly ahead of schedule, which will allow me to give you a surprise.  My book is a collection of layering pieces - shrugs, wraps, and so on - but it has really bothered me that there isn't a shell included.  There was supposed to be, but between one thing and another, it seemed it wasn't to be.

UNTIL NOW!

I will be adding one more pattern, the Whipped Up Shell (in Knit Picks Comfy Sport) to my book.  This will necessitate me raising the price on the book to $18.  However, anybody who has already bought the book when I raise the price will get the additional pattern for FREE.  Surprise!  The price change will happen as soon as the shell goes into testing - hopefully in about two weeks.  I will set a date for it once I get a little closer to completing the pattern, however I wanted to let you know that if you want to get the lower price, you should go ahead and order now!

Yarn Review: Pigeonroof Studios 80/10/10 sw corriedale/tencel/nylon

One of the super hard things about designing is coming up with a name for your pattern that doesn't sound like you used those poetry magnets.  I assume the same is true of naming your yarn bases when you are a dyer, so I have to respect someone who just completely opts out of that whole mess, even if it makes her yarn name take a million years to type.  That being said, I would buy this yarn no matter what it was called, because of this:

Do you see those colors?  Gorgeous!  Stunning!  There is a reason my LYS can't seem to keep this stuff in stock.  Enough variegation to be interesting, but solid enough that it doesn't hide your stitch work, which is exactly what I'm always looking for in hand dyed, or in fact any, yarn.  It says on the website that she gets this lovely depth of color by applying the dye in layers.  I basically love every color I've ever seen this stuff in, which is saying something.

The yarn base itself feels kind of stringy in the skein - a bit stiff, you might say - but it softens beautifully on washing, without puffing up too much.  Sometimes you want your yarn to bloom, but if you don't, this yarn is perfect.  It's fabulous for lace, as the lack of fluff and smooth texture make the holes stay nice and crisp, even without aggressive blocking.  The tencel gives it a lovely sheen.  Also: wears like iron.  Corriedale wool has a longer staple (read: each hair is longer) than merino, which means it has fewer ends, making the yarn less prone to breakage and pilling.  It is also a four ply yarn (most yarn is two or three ply), which again adds durability.  This is definitely a light fingering weight - I wouldn't call it lace weight, but if I were making socks or something that needed a tight gauge, I would definitely go down a needle size or two.  Conversely, if you want a light and airy fabric, this yarn may be perfect for your project.

And now you get a preview of the next pattern in my book, Nuts and Spice Shrug:

Yes, you only get half of a swatch.  The other half of that swatch is messed up.  Remember when I said this stuff wears like iron?  Yeah, been doing a lot of frogging to get this stitch pattern just right.  But worth it!

New in Preorder: Tea Party Stole

Like so many tea parties, this crochet stole/scarf (instructions are included for both a large stole version and a small scarf version) is fairly demure to start, but goes out with a bang! The center panel is a delicate star stitch pattern, which morphs into an interlocking blossom lace pattern (a variant on cone stitch), and ends in a shell stitch ruffle.

Finished pattern will be available from September 15.  Available for preorder here.

Winners!

I even picked on time!  ;)  Hayley and Lauren won a copy of my Blueberry Torte Capelette pattern, and Monica won the pattern and the yarn!  I will be contacting y'all shortly with the contact information you left me.  Thanks for playing, everybody!

Contest: Curio and Blueberry Torte Capelette

If designing has taught me one thing, it is that I am occasionally epically wrong in my estimated yardage for a project.  In this particular case, I thought that my Blueberry Torte Capelette was going to take two balls of Curio.  It actually only took one (with some left over, even!).  This left me with the problem of what to do with the extra ball of thread.  Of course my first impulse was to squirrel it away in my stash, but anyone who has ever been to my house knows that I have something of a stash containment problem, so that wouldn't be a good idea.  Then it occurred to me: I can give it away!

There will be three winners: two first prize winners will get a copy of the pattern, and one grand prize winner will get a copy of the pattern, and this lovely ball of Curio #10 crochet thread in Bluebell (plenty to work the pattern):

You also get three ways to enter.  First is your gimme entry: just comment on this post.  You don't have to answer any questions or anything, just leave me a way to get a hold of you if you win.  Second, if you like my page on Facebook, and leave a second comment on this blog post, you will get another entry.  Third, you can follow this blog, and leave a separate comment on this blog post, for yet another entry.  The winners will be chosen by random number generator on August 10 (by which point the finished pattern will almost certainly be published).  Good luck everybody!

ETA:  Gah I forgot all about Twitter... if you tweet my contest, and comment here, you can have ANOTHER entry.  :)

Yarn Review: All For Love of Yarn Luminosity Fingering

First of all, can I express my amazement that Angela has managed to get pink, blue, purple, and green into one ball of yarn, and have it be such a lovely tonal?  Everything from All For Love of Yarn comes in these special limited pooling colorways, and they are a delight to work with.  You can have festive yarn and festive stitches, and be able to see both at the same time!

This specific yarn (Luminosity) is 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo rayon, and 10% nylon.  It has great drape and a lovely sheen to it (so great stitch definition!), and is holding up to all my frogging beautifully.  It would make a really luscious pair of socks.  One thing to remember about it is that bamboo rayon is still rayon, so it tends to squeak a bit on plastic needles/hooks.  If that's the sort of thing that bothers you, you should use tools in a different material.

Also, that's the swatch for my upcoming Tea Party Stole, which is included in my book.  It's turning out really pretty, isn't it?  I love star stitch for showing off nice yarn.

Suddenly I'm glad I didn't tell you about this last night like I was going to (instead choosing to veg out in front of junk tv).  I just found out that tomorrow is Angela's birthday, and so you can get 38% off any in stock purchase with the code BDAY38.  Tomorrow only!  Buy yarn!  (I'm probably going to!)

Now in Preorder: Blueberry Torte Capelette

I think it turned out pretty nicely.  Available for preorder for $3.99.  The finished pattern is expected about the ninth of August, at which point it will be available for $4.99.  This is the second pattern in my ebook, Cake (Because It Has Layers).