Shawl Week

All this week I will be releasing upgraded versions of these five lovely shawls. Stay tuned!

quick + purly: 5 fingering cardigans

With cooler nights coming (or already here for some of you), layering and lightweight cardigans are on my radar. Here are five that I would love to have in my cedar chest for Fall (and Spring and all year 'round, really).

1. Almwegerl by schneckenstrick €5.50 EUR 

   

   Love the open neckline and stitch patterns on the fronts

2. Audrey by Jane Richmond $6.95 USD 

   

   WANT the garter stitch squishiness and puff at the cuffs

3. MarieMarie Cross-over cardigan by Anne B Hanssen €4.70 EUR 

   

   Open or closed the wrap front is lovely, and the surprise of the lace back is charming

4. Lorem Ipsum by Jennifer Dassau $6.50 USD 

   

   One of those classic yet special patterns that you'll wonder how you lived without

5. Left Bank by Linda Wilgus $6.50 USD 

   

   Yay for v-necks and patterns that look good on the well-endowed

All images from patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended. I just want to share the love!

In case you need just one more...

• Pomegranate Cardi by Kathleen Dames $7 USD 

  

  Pomegranate cables and Seed Stitch work together

There were so many fantastic patterns to choose from! Here is the full search, if none of my selections is quite what you're looking for. Then let me know your favorite(s) in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!

xoxo,

NYC Yarn Crawl is coming up! 25-27 September 2015

Ooh, it's getting to be that time of year. The time when it's not in the 80s, when you want to grab a sweater before you head out, when thoughts turn to yarn and knitting. The most wonderful time of year!

Kicking things off this Fall for me is the NYC Yarn Crawl from 25-27 September. This year there are 11 shops participating in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I will, of course, visit Knitty City (my knitting home away from home) and may venture to some other shops. Purl Soho and Downtown Yarns are always fun to visit, and you never know what sort of direct-from-Milan treasure you might find at School Products Yarn, so we shall see if I can make time to visit those shops. I've never been to Seaport Yarn or any of the Brooklyn shops, so perhaps it's time to leave my borough!

If you're going to be crawling, let me know! I'd love to meet up and squish skeins of yarn together. And if you visit Knitty City, be sure to say "Hello!" to Caught in the Rigging - she's hanging out in the Knitty City window until the end of the month.

The 2015 #NYCYarnCrawl map is ready! Check out the website to download a copy and get store hours, prize info and more. See you there! www.yarncrawlnyc.com #followtheyarn #yarncrawlnyc #yarncrawl

A photo posted by NYC Yarn Crawl (@nycyarncrawl) on Sep 12, 2015 at 2:16pm PDT

#kdknitphotohop winner!

And the winner is the talented @remembrancespottery! Yahoo! Be sure to check out her Etsy shop (link in her profile over on Instagram) - lovely pottery including buttons (!).

And the winner is @remembrancespottery ! Coming your way is enough yarn to knit up a Caught in the Rigging cowl. Thank you so much for participating in #kdknitphotohop 😘💕🙋🏻

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 16, 2015 at 9:08am PDT

The photo hop was LOTS of fun, and I'd love to keep doing something like it. However, posting to a prompt daily and keeping up with everyone else was a lot of work, so I'm thinking of something like a weekly prompt (every Monday?) and favorites/roundups posted the following week. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

#kdknitphotohop recap

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the #kdknitphotohop over the past week. It was lots of fun! I got to meet new-to-me Instagrammers and give away some patterns. Here's where we started:

My birthday is coming up on the 13th. How about a week-long Knit Photo Hop leading up to it? 💕KNIT PHOTO HOP💕 9/7 sparkle 9/8 begins with K 9/9 joy 9/10 knitting 9/11 Jane Austen 9/12 💕💕💕 9/13 birthday To play along: 1. follow @kathleendames 2. repost this photo 3. tag your photos #kdknitphotohop I'll give away a pattern a day of your choice, and one of you lucky Instagrammers will win enough @missbabsyarns Yowza in Oyster to knit a Caught in the Rigging cowl to swatch your new favorite pattern 😉

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 3, 2015 at 7:39am PDT

SPARKLE winner

SPARKLE winner for the #kdknitphotohop thanks to the numerical randomness of random.org. Thanks for sharing your beautifully sparkly bowl and shadow!DM'ing you in a second. #repost @remembrancespottery with @repostapp. ・・・ Sparkle. Today's #kdknitphotohop with @kathleendames. My current project in a sparkly bowl with a sparkly shadow.

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 8, 2015 at 6:05am PDT

BEGINS WITH K winner

Winner for Begins with K is @waterpixie ! Hope the migraine went away. I'll DM you in a sec 😀 The rest of you darling #knittersofinstagram , it's not too late to join in the #kdknitphotohop fun! We're posting our pics daily - see my feed for all the deets . #Repost @waterpixie with @repostapp. ・・・ Day 2: Starts with "K" = knitting and the Knit Girllls! Pardon the low lighting, I need to keep the lights down today because my head thought it was Starts with "M" and gave me a migraine 👎 #kdknitphotohop

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 9, 2015 at 6:37am PDT

JOY winner

JOY winner @taraswiger ! If you don't yet know Tara, she is an amazing and insightful craft business advisor/guru. Check her out at taraswiger.com and all the usual social media outlets, especially Periscope. #Repost @taraswiger with @repostapp. ・・・ Today's #kdknitphotohop prompt is JOY. The newest source of joy in my life totally took me by surprise: Periscope! I love catching up with you guys and sharing mini-lessons as I learn them. This is a clip from this morning's; I was answering a question about what I normally scope about. A good summary of just about everything I do! #Periscope #creativebiz #swigerlive

A video posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 10, 2015 at 7:15am PDT

KNITTING winner

Winner for yesterday's #knitting prompt: @storiedyarns and her beautiful pile of orange WIPs! I'll DM you in a second to find out which pattern you'd like. There's still time to join the #kdknitphotohop - deets in my feed 😀 #Repost @storiedyarns with @repostapp. ・・・ Today's #kdknitphotohop prompt is Knitting. This is the pile of projects I'm currently working on. It's one more than I usually like to have in progress at one time so I'm working to finish at least one soon. I like to have at least one mindless knit and one that requires more focus, so this is a good combination for me. #yearofmaking

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 11, 2015 at 7:43am PDT

JANE AUSTEN winner

Almost forgot to post yesterday's winner. Hope the cable knitting has improved il since yesterday 😉 #Repost @asimplehomestd with @repostapp. ・・・ Tinking cables is the pits 😕 #kdknitphotohop

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 12, 2015 at 4:30pm PDT

HEARTS/LOVE winner

The 💕💕💕 winner from Saturday: @kimmmiesueee ! I'll DM you in a sec 😀 #Repost @kimmmiesueee with @repostapp. ・・・ I 💜💗💜 dressing up my cat! #poorfreya #kdknitphotohop

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 14, 2015 at 8:01am PDT

and BIRTHDAY winner

Many thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! The #kdknitphotohop birthday prompt winner is @waterpixie ! Love those balloons 😀 #Repost @waterpixie with @repostapp. ・・・ Day 7: Happy Birthday to @kathleendames ! A favorite birthday tradition I started with my boys is getting them a special birthday balloon. These are the ones they picked this year. #kdknitphotohop

A photo posted by Kathleen Dames (@kathleendames) on Sep 15, 2015 at 7:52am PDT

Thanks, again, to everyone who played along! It was so fun that I'm thinking of doing a weekly prompt (seven days in. a. row. was kind of a lot for me, though that could be because it was also the first week of school, the week leading up to my and my husband's birthdays, as well as preparing for Penelope's belated birthday party - summer birthdays can be tough on a kid).

Tomorrow I will announce the yarn giveaway winner for enough Miss Babs Yowza in Oyster to knit the Caught in the Rigging cowl.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

Pattern: Captain Austen's Scarf

Captain Austen's Scarf on Ravelry $7 (no account necessary)

A cozy scarf is a must for walking the deck of your ship, and what better way to dress it up than with a little of Frank Austen’s fringe? He worked the very same fringe (on some curtains) while on shore leave with his sister Jane. Luscious, bulky Malabrigo Twist makes for a quick knit, and the reversible Seaweed stitch pattern will keep your interest until it’s time to tie that fringe and board your ship.

This pattern is designed so that you can use every yard/meter of two lovely skeins of Malabrigo Twist or 300 yds/274 m of your favorite Aran weight yarn. The Seaweed stitch pattern is lovely to work in knits and purls, plus it is easy to remember after one time through the pattern. And like all the best scarf patterns, it's reversible! Seaweed looks different but equally attractive on the reverse side.

And then there's the fringe! While, in general, I'm not fringe-y, I love working this fringe and can see how Frank Austen could work up fringe for the drawing room quite happily (even if he had a bad cough). You could leave off the fringe (I worked up a plain version of the scarf for my fringe-averse husband), but I think it really adds a special touch to this scarf

What you'll love about knitting Captain Austen's Scarf:

• Seaweed stitch is a straightforward knit-purl pattern - easy to work, provided in both written and charted versions
• Designed to use up just about all of two skeins of Twist - no awkward amounts of leftovers
• Fringe edging is fun to create - you'll start looking at everything around you to see what else might need fringe

What you'll love about wearing Captain Austen's Scarf:

• There is no wrong side to this scarf - sometimes you fall for a scarf that has to be worn "just so" to be seen to advantage; this scarf looks great front- and reverse-facing
• Worked in a lusciously soft yarn like Malabrigo Twist, you will love having this around your neck all winter long
• You will entertain yourself with that fringe
• Makes an excellent gift for any man or woman - just choose a favorite color and knit away!

Size/Finished Measurements
70" long x 6" wide, including fringe

Materials
Malabrigo Twist [100% merino wool; 150 yards/137 meters per 100g skein]; color: Ravelry Red; 2 skeins
US8/5.0mm needle(s)
US H-8/5.0mm crochet hook (optional)
Tapestry needle

Gauge
20 sts x 22 rows = 4" square in Seaweed stitch pattern

Skills Needed

• casting on
• binding off
• knitting
• purling
• following written or charted instructions for Seaweed stitch pattern (both included)
• working fringe (written instructions included)

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

Recipe: Kathleen's Granola

After posting a picture on Instagram/Facebook of a tray of granola ready to go into the oven last week, I received a lot of notes asking about my recipe.

My overall principle after lots of tweaking and eating is one Tablespoon each oil and sweetener for every cup of stuff, then baking for about six minutes for each cup of said stuff. So, feel free to go nuts (or seeds or whatever makes you want to get up in the morning and have a delicious breakfast)!

I've substituted maple syrup for the honey and might substitute coconut oil for canola just to see. If I run out of one kind of nut, I've doubled the other, but I do prefer the combination. And I like to think that the flax seeds give my coat a glossy sheen, but that could just be me being silly. Don't skip the salt! In all my time in the kitchen (cooking was my hobby before I became a knitter), the most important lesson I've learned is that salt brings out sweetness in baked goods.

This is IMO delicious atop your favorite yogurt with some fruit mixed in (you can skip the cranberries in that case), but I love to eat it as cold cereal with dried cranberries and soy milk (more calcium for my bones). When I run out of granola and have to eat something else for breakfast, I am not a happy camper, so this stuff gets made often.

Caveat: I am not a nutritionist. Nor am I a professional chef. This is how I like it. YMMV.

Kathleen's Granola

approx. 1 quart

4 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 cup sweetened coconut, loosely packed

1/4 cup flax seeds, ground

1.5 teaspoons kosher salt

6 Tablespoons canola oil

6 Tablespoons honey

1 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Line large baking sheet with parchment. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil and honey to bowl, then mix thoroughly to coat dry ingredients. Pour onto lined baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake for approx. 35 minutes until fragrant and toasted brown. Cool thoroughly on rack. Store in covered container. Add cranberries before serving.

Notes

• I use a rimmed half sheet pan, sometimes known as a jelly roll pan. It is approx. 18x13".
• To cut down on the number of utensils I dirty, I fill my Tablespoon half-way with salt. Then I use the Tablespoon for the oil and honey as follows: Fill with oil, pour in bowl; fill with honey, pour in bowl; repeat six times. The oil prevents the honey from sticking to the spoon.
• I used to add the cranberries before storing the granola but have discovered that, thanks to osmosis, the moisture in the berries tends to leave said berries and permeate the granola. Not enough to make the granola soggy or anything, just enough to make the cranberries hard. Me no likey. 
• This recipe has been doubled and halved using 9x13" and two half sheet pans, respectively. Bake for 20-25 minutes and 45-55 minutes.

Kids start back to school tomorrow-ish (classroom visits). Once they're back in their school-year routine, I'll get back into mine. In the meantime I'm enjoying the last of summer as best I can (it's HOT out - ugh). Hope you're having a good time, too.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!

xoxo,

P.S. There's still time to join in the Instagram #kdknitphotohop! See my profile for details.