On Sale Now - Plowline Raglan Pattern!

The Plowline Pattern is up!  You can download it from the Garment House Shop, Ravelry or directly from here.  I am also trying out seamless checking through my shop now, eliminating having to go through Paypal.  I'm pretty excited about it, but make sure to let me know if you experience any problems.  

Almost there!

I'm so, so close to releasing the Plowline Raglan Sweater pattern!  After consulting my company's computer guy (ha, shockingly underpaid husband), I finally got my PDFs looking the way I want them to.  Apple does a terrible job resizing their documents making the graphs hardly legible, but I think that's ironed out now.  I might go back and do the same for all my other patterns and provide an update for those of you who have already bought them.

A little bit about the Plowline.  I plan to release it sometime early next week, and for now it will be released in one size, Garment House Medium (size 6-8).  I will update the pattern to include all sizes in a while, after I've had a chance to get some feedback about the pattern as it is now.  I'll be offering this one-size pattern at a discounted rate until then.

You have all been so kind about the Garment House knitting patterns so far, thank you!  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, even before I asked if anyone would be interested in the Downton Sweater I hoped to release last year.  If this Plowline release goes well, that's the next sweater pattern on the list!

Thank you! And let's talk hot water bottles.

I meant to post on this earlier, but couldn't find an extra minute anywhere!  Thank you for participating in the Garment House Giveaway!  I got a hold of all the winners last week and the most amazing thing happened - almost every single one of them personally wrote back and thanked me!  It was such a kind gesture, and a fun way for me to participate in the excitement about their upcoming knitting project!  I get the same way before I cast on, and hope these patterns ignite the desire to knit a handful of great projects this fall and winter.  I can't wait to see how all these patterns knit up for you!

I myself have had to finish a bunch of Hot Water Bottle Covers and Teapot Cozies as gifts for various people over the last couple weeks, and as satisfying as these quick gifts can be, i'm really looking forward to starting a winter-long project for myself.  It will probably be a sweater, and preferably some one else's pattern!  Eventually, i'll knit another version of my Plowline Raglan, but for now, i'm happy with the one i've got.  And now that the giveaway is over, I can focus on sharing that pattern with all of you!

Now for the thrilling part of my post that I know you've all been on the edge of your seats to discuss - hot water bottles.  I've had some questions about which hot water bottles I buy.  This is an excellent thing to ask, since I'm still on a hunt for a favorite.  Out of the four I own, I was given one that I feel is quality worth buying again, but I haven't been able to track down where to get them.  Some i've purchased have been too thin, and I like them a little sturdier, a lot have had an awful plastic smell that only gets worse when hot water is poured into them, and a couple have a warning printed right on them not to use with boiled water! I don't know about you, but I like that bottle as hot as I can get it and want it to retain that heat all night if possible!  I've been reading Amazon reviews trying to find a bottle that is worth buying in bulk so that I can just have a stack on hand to avoid those crazy last minute treks to every pharmacy within a 50 mile radius whenever I need a get well or house warming gift.  Fashy has some good looking bottles that come in such great colors, but a lot of the reviews say they are children's size (What?!  They sell children's size bottles?!  Mini things!  I want them!).  Sänger has some great colors too and the quality looks good, but there are no reviews to be able to tell.  I recently bought two super cheap Mabis bottles locally, but I wasn't terribly impressed with their quality.  They weren't the ribbed ones Amazon sells, so maybe those are a bit better.  I'm holding out hope for these Graham Field bottles since you can in fact buy them in bulk!  I'll keep searching and pass on any info I find, and if you get a chance, I'd love it if anyone left their recommendations!

more patterns available

i finished another knitting pattern over the weekend!  it's a standard size teapot cozy, and I've just added it to the shop!  it's available for purchase in two different ways, alone or combined with the small teapot cozy pattern.

these teapot covers are a lot of fun to make, and they knit up so quickly.  i thoroughly enjoyed having a small project to work on this weekend, even though you'd figure i'd be tired of all this test knitting.  a couple weekends back, i took the time to organize all my yarns and i'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of using up whatever odds and ends are left over from other projects.  i'm even stretching myself a little to modify patterns slightly so that I avoid buying MORE YARN!  although i'm in no way going to set this challenge for myself, i could easily get away with not buying another skein for at least a year!

i've decided to keep the giveaway commenting open for just a little longer too, so make sure to click the post below if you want to add your name to the group.  and thank you to the people who just keep buying away!  the encouragement is helping me to keep pushing ahead!

ravelry store pattern giveaway!

I've decided to open a Garment House Ravelry Store for my pattern downloads, too!  The same two patterns are available for download now.  If you're a knitter and don't have Ravelry account, it's worth signing up.  Especially if you're interested in getting one of my patterns for free!  That's right, it's time for a party.  As a way of saying thank you for the support, I'm giving away one pattern (of your choice) to ten random commenters on this post.  TEN!  If you're shy, or don't know what to comment, let me give you some ideas. Tell me what age you started knitting, who taught you to knit, or what knit item you saw that inspired you to learn.  I'll give it a couple days (the promo codes expires next Friday), then I'll randomly generate some numbers and go through the comment list and try to contact you with a promo code for one free download.  Please leave some way for me to reach you, have a blogger profile with a link to an email, or check back here and i'll leave a response to your comment if you're a winner.  If there's no way to get a hold of you, i'll keep moving down the list.

Let's get this commenting party started!

**thanks for all the comments!  this giveaway is now closed.**  

another knitting pattern is ready for download!

First of all, thank you for buying the Garment House Hot Water Bottle Cover pattern!  Wow!  I'm so thrilled to have your business after such a long hiatus from the shop, and cannot wait to see everyone's hand-knit work!    

Can you tell by the patterns i'm uploading it's been cold?  Really, really cold?  As I sit in a frigid office, I find myself piling on every test knit item I have in my pack mule's worth of stuff I haul from the house to the office every day.  I even have a very hot water bottle in it's cover on my lap.  And another on my back!  It pays to be a knitter.  

Pattern download number two, Small Teapot Cozy, is ready and waiting in the shop!  I have been meaning to share this pattern for a while, and knowing full-time tea drinking weather is on it's way, now is the time!  This project is incredibly fast since it's knit with chunky yarn, which also makes it extra insulating for your teapot.  I use it with my ForLife "Stump" Teapot (which i highly recommend), but it will work with most two-cup (16-18 oz) teapots.  This pattern is perfect for beginners since it's knit flat in garter stitch, meaning you don't have to use one purl stitch to make it!  But really, what knitter doesn't like a simple and quick knitting project?

More patterns are on their way, but for now, i'm going to pile as many quilts and blankets I can find on top of me for the weekend, and catch up on some more knitting.  Thank you for your business, friends!

garment house knitting patterns

it's been quiet on here over the last couple weeks, but i've been hard at work!  my days have been full of making list after list, going through stacks of notebooks filled with my knitted designs, test knitting until my fingers are about to fall off, taking photos in hurricane-speed winds, retaking photos, editing photos, changing layouts, and trying hard to wrap up this first set of garment house knitting patterns for release! i'm getting close. some of the bumps that have come up along the way have been really challenging and tough, but i'm thankful to just keep pushing through, learning as i go.  it keeps me from freaking out about how nervous i am to actually share my patterns with everyone!  i've heard some horror stories and even had some discouraging experiences already, but i've also heard some really encouraging things too.  i hope the good outweighs the bad, and all this hard work will be worth it.

but good news!  to test this [new to me] process of downloadable patterns, i've brushed off my water bottle cover pattern, revised it, and am now offering it as a PDF for sale in my garment house shop. i've changed a couple things about the pattern for the better, but as always, make sure to let me know if you find any errors.

i don't know about you, but we're in full-blown hot water bottle season in our home!  it has been snowing all day, and thankfully i have a bunch of newly test knit covers to make sure there's one for every bed in the house.

baby knits

little bertie blazer from sublime #640 booklet in cashmere merino silk dk

over the last couple years of physical pain and medical trails, i've knit more and more to keep my sanity. even after my diagnosis of infertility, i would wistfully knit baby items as weird way of letting things go.  friends would have babies, and i'd usually pass on these little tiny knits thankful to have a gift on hand to give.  some i held onto, waiting for time to help me ease my grip and let go even more.

 blocking the chunky knit cardigan from erika knight's book, simple knits for cherished babies 

made in lion brand fishermen's wool

and then i found out i was pregnant, and something crazy happened.  i was terrified to knit baby things.  i'm not a superstitious person, but there was something so scary to me about knitting specifically for one person, knowing there was a chance that little person wouldn't make it.  i was afraid to have a physical reminder linked to longing and hope.  but just like all medical trials, a short, two week period of bed rest early on in me knowing about my pregnancy gave me little other to do than pick up the knitting needles. i found that the more i knit, the more i felt ready for whatever was ahead.

Zip Up The Back Hooded Baby Sweater in Colinette Cadenza in Thunder

i started off with a tiny zip up the back hooded baby sweater, an all time favorite item my mother-in-law had knit for my daughter years ago.  i have yet to add the zipper, but absolutely loved the pattern and the finished, tiny result.  i'm so glad this classic pattern has been made available for free!

chunky knit cardigan from erika knight's book, simple knits for cherished babies 

made in lion brand fishermen's wool

since our baby will be born somewhere around the end of the year, i was convinced i needed to knit something even teenier for it to wear right away!  i used an old favorite pattern from erika knight's book, simple knits for cherished babies, and added my own garter stitch shawl collar after everything was seamed.  the pattern calls for chunky yarn, so i might be pushing it with this lion brand fishermen's wool dk/worsted weight yarn.  it's pretty little, but babies usually are!  we've taken a poll in the house and have decided all it needs it a little tiny pocket and leather buttons.  and a smoking pipe.

christine's baby booties using knitpicks stroll in dove heather

i'm only halfway through my next project, but it's turning out so perfectly, i had to share!  this is another classic pattern that has been made available for free online.  word is, they're the absolute best and actually stay on babies feet!  i originally saw spindelicious' perfect version on ravelry and would still love to knit an exact pair.  i thought i'd test out the pattern first using the knitpicks stroll i had on hand, and am so happy i did.  the pattern is great, i just made sure to slip that first stitch purlwise for the top of the toe section, knit or purl to the end and then knit or purl two together (like turning the second half of short row heel on a sock).  i am much happier with the result as opposed to whatever the pattern was asking me to do that i obviously could not wrap my head around.  oh, and i also shortened the cuff by 12 rows only because i was getting bored and tired.  i included the eyelets the pattern suggests, and plan on knitting an i-cord for the ankle out of a contrasting yarn to make them a little more interesting.  possibly a black and white tweed.

i'm sure i'll be fine if all i ever knit were these couple things, but if anyone else has some favorite baby patterns to pass on, i'd love to check them out!   

baktus and sandal weather

edit: since so many asked, the sandals i'm wearing are gee'wawa maria fisherman in grey. 

another week gone by.  i really can't believe it's march already.  those couple months of being sick have made me feel like i missed a good portion of this winter, but oh well.  i'm just glad to be up and about!

i decided it was time for another garter stitch project and this simple baktus pattern was super quick and fun.  i would have finished it in one sitting instead of two had i not set the scarf down, picked it back up and started increasing every other row instead of every fourth row!  even though the sudden jut where i changed the increase rate caught my attention over and over, i kept knitting away until the halfway point when the decreasing instructions made me realize what i had done.  my lazy self considered leaving it, but i really wanted a less dramatic triangle than what i had made, so out it came.  even though i had to knit half the scarf twice, this pattern is still a new favorite.  and the cotton peaches and creme in faded denim really made this a perfect scarf for the quickly approaching spring.

oh man, it's friday?

i mean, t.g.i.f.  this week really went fast, which means something good - i'm slowly getting better and out of the house!  it's been so nice to slowly emerge back into the land of the living.  so nice in fact, i'm holding back on the exclamation points.  i'm getting the office whipped back into shape which means i crossed off number one on the new years goals list.  i also spent most of the week trying to wrap my brain around some difficult pattern drafting for my knitting machine which is also a goal for this year.  i'm breaking the last goal as we speak though by exercising, blogging and listening to music all at the same time.  i'm not aiming for perfection.

i know i said i'd have a couple knitting patterns to post on here, and i still plan on sharing them.  i tried working through editing them this morning, but have one too many knitting patterns floating around in my head right now.  soon, i promise!

small knitting

here are a couple small projects i've been working on - dishcloths, placemats, and my take on this hat and fingerless mittens from that beautiful article in the january issue of martha stewart living about knitting.  i've been living off easy knitting projects that only take a couple hours to complete, and in the process, have discovered the beauty of the garter stitch.

i hope to be posting an itty bitty pattern i wrote soon too!

blue

my recovery regime ::  loads of kusmi tea and chocolate sent by kind friends + comfy clothes (the top and camp socks from doug and bottoms from my sister jenah have kicked my usual "athletic huxtable" look up a notch) + plenty of knitting (why yes, i have taken up designing doll clothes in my spare time. and sometimes i talk to the dolls.  and they always understand me.) 

it's getting to be a challenge to not feel blue about still being sick.  a recent unexpected emergency room trip (that's dumb, when do you expect to go to the e.r.?) sent us into a spiral of more tests and no real answers yet.  everything was really starting to wear on all of us, and then some people stopped by unannounced to just sit and visit.  the house is in a constant state of mess, i'm usually far from presentable and i'm starting to really care less.  the most recent visitors did so much to lift my spirits.  their encouraging words gave me a burst of hope.  right after they left, i was listening to a podcast that mentioned that patients in hospitals who are told encouraging words actually have a much higher chance of recovering faster.  i believe it.

the emotional challenge of whatever is going on is hard, but i still feel so well cared for.  just when we need it, we'll get a call, a text, an email, a care package in the mail, or someone stopping by with dinner.  it's making me realize that the thoughtfulness and kindness behind what you do is just as sustaining as the physical act of taking care of others.

valen-tiny

i finished another hand knit cardigan for a little friend's first birthday modifying this great pattern just slightly so that i could make the body completely seamless. notice the use of the contrasting white again? baby sweaters are a perfect way to use up leftover yarn. i had just enough wool-ease in both the rose and natural heather. 

but i'm afraid it's not going to fit and wish i could figure out if it will without ruining the surprise. i tried to dig through the baby clothes to see if i could compare it to anything i had on hand, but couldn't find a sweater, small jacket or sweatshirt in this size. anyone know of a chart online that would tell you such things?

knitting and downton

there has been no better time to feel under the weather than these last couple cold and snowy days.  i'm tired of feeling cruddy, but have enjoyed making the most out of being stuck indoors and unable to much of anything.  and how did i luck out on getting sick while there's actually something good to watch online?  thank you, downton abbey!

and what goes better with a period drama than knitting?  after finishing a little valentine's present this last saturday, i decided to keep going on my hand knitting kick and see what i could make with four skeins of the perfect shade of grey lamb's pride wool.  i had been searching for months for a project to dedicate such a small amount of yarn to, but couldn't find one.  i considered adapting this beautiful sweater to a different gauge and smaller amount of wool, but was really itching to make something fast and easy.  i was shooting for a sweater that was more like a sweatshirt and found the solution to be a patternless, completely seamless top-down raglan.  i wasn't expecting to be so happy with the unplanned results!  incorporating the off-white cascade eco wool helped put a dent in my always too full yarn basket and made this simple sweater just a little more interesting.

five days of straight knitting and a very comfortable sweater to show for it.  and just in time for the weekend!

facing the new year

i hope you've been enjoying this holiday break as much as i have.  right before christmas began, i got news that the pathology on the tumor the doctors removed came back benign!  i cannot explain the feeling of peace and relief it's brought to us.  this short paragraph hardly does the good news justice.  maybe i'll get more comfortable talking about the details, but for now, this helps.  thank you for all your prayers and concern!

this month, this last year really, has provided a chance (once again) for me to learn about setting the bar lower and seeing that we still survive even if things go differently than i expect.  coming off of that, it's an awkward time to set some new years goals, but doug has been helping me keep them simple and reasonable.  here what i've come up with.

+ clean and organize our office into a more useful space
+ double the savings for my business this year.  this is a smaller amount than you'd think, which means i can probably do it.
+ expand my knitting machine skills and catch up with my machine knitting group
+ finish the seat covers for our danish chairs
+ get better about incorporating smaller and repetitive projects into my work
+ have friends over to the office to work on projects together
+ call my friends more to go to late night movies 
+ make more of a habit of exercising without any distractions and noise

some of these goals seem more daunting than the others, some might get scratched, but all have me excited for 2012.  ha, as long the mayans are wrong!

heck yeah, who wants a pair of socks?!

orange socks: knitpicks stroll in foliage

purple socks: bamboo + ewe in purple

i've got plenty to spare!  i have figured out how to knit socks on my knitting machine which has turned out to be a very dangerous thing.  i got so excited about my first pair turning out just the way i wanted them to, that i'm on my fourth pair.  good thing i have a basket of sock yarns to use up!  i knew that it was possible to knit socks on a flat-bed machine, but got so impatient trying to find a good pattern to use, i just made my own.  my first try worked out perfectly without even knitting up a test pair, which i can hardly believe.  i'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons why i'm on such a machine knit sock kick. 

as far as yarn goes, i absolutely loved working with the knitpicks stroll in foliage that my mother-in-law recently sent to me.  it knit up so beautifully on my machine and the socks feel amazing.  a close runner-up was this bamboo/wool pair, although it's slightly more itchy.  i made them just a tiny bit loose since i don't like tight socks, and can't wait to see how they wash up. 

we're enjoying a much needed quiet, restful weekend.  it's chilly outside and cozy in our home.  this week was full of challenges, ending on news that i need an operation that will hopefully improve my health.  i'm anxious, but much more than that, i'm relieved.  it's good to finally have some answers.

enjoy your weekend.  we get an extra hour of sleep tomorrow, which rocks.