a kit option, new things.

Beach Bunny Yarns now offers a kit for Morpho! This is pretty exciting: I’m not super strong with variegated yarns, and the samples are gorgeous in a way that almost baffles me. The dyeways and the design work remarkably well with each other.

MEANWHILE, on the personal knitting/design front, I am having the entertaining experience of really really liking my current work, and kind of hating the fact that I do. The finished product is better than I’d hoped for—but that means I don’t get to go back to rip it back and redesign it, and in fact the part that I found kind of stressful and tedious makes the design. It’s very possible that I found it stressful and tedious only because I had worked that part three times before I liked it and I was behind schedule because of it—it doesn’t seem as unpleasant now, on the second sample—but objective facts: it’s going to involve a moderate to long section of uninterrupted garter stitch. A moderate to long section of garter stitch is not everyone’s cup of tea.

I can’t show the finished design yet! So. This is Malabrigo Yarn Sock in the darkest version of Indiecita I’ve ever seen.

Gopher.

Gopher is available now on Ravelry!

It’s got a little in common with Manta, in that it uses a similar exploded-shape concept (Manta is a kind of broken square; this is a kind of wrecked rectangle, I guess). The slightly weird shape lends itself well to wearing; there are a couple of ways to style it that I’ve found so far, just trying to get photos of the finished shawl.

I worked a second test/sample in worsted-weight cotton blend, and while my final gauge is to be determined, my yardage was very different—a little over 500 yards rather than just under 455–so if you’re going to play yarn chicken, be careful. Maybe yarn chicken is not advised at all for this; I am not sure.

Coming soon! This shawl is an expansion of the Dog Days 8 pattern—essentially, I was working up a second sample, but I had ~500 yards of worsted-ish yarn, and wanted to keep going. This is a cotton blend (it’s Caron Cotton Cakes or something else big-box; it’s surprisingly enjoyable to knit with), and seems like it would be good used for post-swim pullover sweaters and wraps. It has almost a chamois-like texture, though I’m sure it won’t behave the same way.

Anyway, a main redeeming feature of this design is that it looks pretty nice on the back; it’s essentially reversible, though not identical on either side. I almost prefer the back of the second lace motif.