Hello! And welcome to the Bonfire Night Stop on the Hitch Blog Tour! I live in London although I’m originally from Ireland. I’m not quite sure why the British celebrate Guy Fawkes nearly blowing up the House of Lords, but he’s the reason we English speakers use the word “guy” meaning a bloke, man or fella. In any event, tonight promises lots of bangs and explosions and sparklers and melting marshmallows with my over-excited kids.
These wee ones are the reason why I knit at all. I taught myself to knit when I first found out I was pregnant – I had previously been known to churn out the occasional bad oil painting, but oils and their associated chemicals are bad news for curious babies. Not to mention the clean-ups. So it was time to find a new hobby. Knitting is perfect because you can put it down and pick it up at a moment’s notice, there’s no mess and best of all, you can wear it to keep warm when you’re done. I made a LOT of hats that first year.
Then I joined a local group of knitters, The Harrow Knitters, and they were so supportive and sociable that I found myself trying out fabulous new yarns, newer techniques and more ambitious patterns. Around about when my eldest turned 3, it got to the point where I knew exactly what I wanted to make, but I couldn’t find the pattern for it… so I just wrote it myself. By March, I had read enough about swatching and blocking that I thought I was maybe ready to design a washcloth or something, and I tentatively started looking at the calls for submission on the Ravelry Designer’s Forum.
Which where I saw Stephannie Tallent’s post.
I was very excited by the call. I swear to high heaven, the design for “Eleven Hundred Dollars” popped straight into my head almost fully formed. Nothing like that’s happened since, so I can only take it as an explosion of pent-up creativity; and possibly a sign that knitwear design was something I should consider seriously. Was I crazy? For a first design? Well, let’s just call me naïve…
When I look at the proposal I drew up now, I cringe. This thing was 7 pages long. It had charts. It had schematics. It had a long-winded inspiration essay. I’m not sure why Stephannie picked it out, but I’m very glad she did!
Original sketch and schematic from the proposal:
pillow
Imagine my delight when Stephannie got in touch to say I was in! I danced around the dining room table and muffled the screams with a pillow so as not to wake the kids. I called my Mum and tried to explain all about it (much to her bemusement) and then I sat down with a thump as I realised now I really would have to design it!
I ran full-tilt into the world of designing and set about creating a jumper I am proud of. Eleven Hundred Dollars has a lot of details:
- Welted hem in 2 colours
- Deep mosaic chevron waistband with princess seams
- Cross-over top with slip-stitch edging in a contrasting colour
- Short-row shoulders and 3-needle cast off
- A simple lace pattern on the sleeves
- Highly shaped ¾-length sleeves, with shoulder puffs
- Applied I-cord cuffs with a contrasting trim
-
Buttoned keyhole at cuffs
This is NOT a beginner’s knit. This is a treat for you or a loved one. I would LOVE to hear how you get on with it, so please get in touch!
Competition Time
Ah good, you’ve made it this far. If you’d like to be in with a chance to win a PDF copy of the book, please comment below with your favourite integer and why you like it!
E.g. I like the number 120 because it’s divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20 and hence can be used for all sorts of knitting patterns!
Le Grand Tour
Watch out for the Fyberspates Blog Stop on the 9th! I used their scrumptious Scrumptious to make Eleven Hundred Dollars.
10/5/2013: Knitting Kninja
10/7/2013: Herrlichkeiten
10/8/2013: Knit and Travel
10/9/2013: Knit & Knag Designs
10/10/2013: Wooly Wonka Fibers
10/11/2013: Verdant Gryphon
10/15/2013: Impeccable Knits: Shifting Stitches
10/16/2013: Rewolluzza
10/21/2013: Knitwear Designs by Carolyn Noyes
10/22/2013: Peacefully Knitting
10/23/2013: Dark Matter Knits
10/24/2013: Turnknit: Dani Berg Designs
10/25/2013: SweetGeorgia Yarns
10/28/2013: doviejay knits
10/29/2013: Triona Designs
10/30/2013: Tactile Fiber Arts
11/4/2013: A Knitter’s Life
11/5/2013: Catchloops
11/6/2013: Yarn On The House
11/07/2013: Ramblings
11/12/2013: Hazel Knits
11/13/2013: Knitcircus
11/19/2013: indigodragonfly
11/9/2013: Fyberspates
11/25/2013: knittingkirigami
11/22013: A B-ewe-tiful Design
Catchloops 
My favorite integer is zero because of it’s shape. It reminds me that we are all connected with each other and the world around us, no matter how different we may be.
I’m loving all the patterns in Hitch – and reading about how the designers came up with their ideas. Favorite integer: 2…. simple, easy to keep track of, but not lonely. :)
I like the number four for many reasons! Four sock needles, sock patterns mostly divide into four columns and split in half in 2 places (2^2 = 4). 4ins = 10cm (I’m better in imperial, oddly), the base of many mathematical formulae (y^2 = 4x for a parabola, for instance). Always been luckily and is a regular lottery number for me. All boring, but all true!
34 because it was the address of my first house!
I’ve always like the number 3 – it’s prime and just a nice curvy number
I’m fond of lucky number 7, and that may be why I’ve made so many of EZ’s February Baby Sweater, where the lace is a multiple of 7.
I like 5 – it’s prime, but it’s a great basis for pattern repeats because it’s so easy to make 5’s symmetrical. >>|<< See? 5 stitches with beautiful symmetry. Plus, it's a stitch repeat that is easy to add or take away for small-scale size adjustments – not so big that you are changing a garment by whole inches if you add or subtract a repeat or two. Then, too, it's the basis for another favorite integer, 25 – with 25, you can do all kinds of amazing things, since you have five sets of five to work with. Symmetry within symmetry!
I like 7, but not sure I’ve ever had a good reason for it other than generally liking prime numbers.
My favorite integer would be 13, I have long considered it my lucky number, and was lucky enough to find a guy who also considered it his lucky number also! Now the 13th is also my wedding anniversary as well as my lucky number :)
:) I’m a little bit of a triskaidekaphile too! Usually Rubbish for knitting tho! New challenge! 13s pattern!
8 because that is my grandson’s age. I love the Exakta Hat by Stephannie Tallent and can’t wait to knit it.
(lmecoll on Ravlery)
This is a great post! Reading it has inspired me to stop faffing around as a wannabe designer and actively engage with my goal of getting published. I’ve got a notebook of ideas that need to see the light of day. I need to knuckle down!
Loving the story of your design – what a gorgeous knit! My favourite integer is 3. I think it’s the perfect number for small groupings. :)