Candle: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Candle, suggested by Kate, a Patreon supporter. This one has multiple unusual maneuvers, but it couldn’t be helped. This was the only arrangement of yarnovers based on the word that could be turned into lace I liked. So it’s got a bunny ears yarnover in it, and a (k1, yo, k1) in next stitch, and also both a k1 tbl and its mirror image. The latter was needed because otherwise the yarnover between it and the CDD at the center of the design collapsed and disappeared when I got to the next right side row. I haven’t untangled why. Yet.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Candle needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Home: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Home, suggested by Natasha, a Patreon supporter.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Home needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Amber: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The second word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon last month is Amber, suggested by Kate, a Patreon supporter. I see two-handled pottery jugs in this.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made an Amber needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Nippy: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Nippy, suggested by Antoinette, a Patreon supporter. Nippy is a great word for where I live at this time of year: just enough chill in the air to need sweaters and other woolly knitwear!

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Nippy needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Sheep: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Sheep, suggested by Cathy D, a Patreon supporter. It’s always good fun to encode words related to string or yarn, and this was no exception!

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Sheep needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Étude no. 25: Tall Diamonds

It’s been a while since I designated a blog post as an étude, which is a thing I like to do occasionally.

In music, an étude is a kind of musical exercise meant to increase skill in a single technique. I used to take classical violin lessons when I was young, so I was assigned my share of études to practice at home.

The études on my blog aren’t quite the same, but they’re not unlike. They’re exercises in design techniques that I’ve assigned myself to see what I can accomplish and what I can learn from them. I’ve probably posted some blog posts since my last étude that probably should have qualified. I might go back and tag them, I might not.

This particular étude is one I did without a write-up some years ago; I think I remember enough of what I did back then to be able to write up the results: it’s yet another in my series of stitch designs delving into chevrons and diamonds.

Query: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The second word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon last month is Query, suggested by Kate, a Patreon supporter. As a reference librarian, I really like the word query, so I was pleased to play with it.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Query needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Lichen: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The first word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon this month is Lichen, suggested by Andria and Bookwyrm, two Patreon supporters. I’m very pleased with the lyre motifs I see in this one, even though they have nothing to do with lichen.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Lichen needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Yearn: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The word I drew from my word hoard for this stitch pattern is Yearn, suggested by Bonnie C, a Patreon supporter.

Much as I like my stitch work, I’ve been feeling as if I’d like to stretch my abilities, and this pushed me in a couple of ways. Six years ago, I tried working with vertical symmetry, and found it difficult. When I looked at the possible charts for yearn, this yarnover layout caught my eye; I also realized I didn’t necessarily need to aim for perfect vertical symmetry, though this isn’t too far off. I also felt that since this was turning into a stitch pattern with a lot of cables that it might be good to add a little reverse stockinette as a contrast background. I’m really pleased with the result. (The reverse stockinette is optional; anywhere there’s a purl dot on the chart can be replaced with a knit square, except for the [k1, p1] symbols above the double yarnovers.)

I did have to invent three different cable/decrease combinations to cope with the layout, however, so this is definitely for those of you who like a bit of a challenge! This does mean I didn’t get a chance to check my work in Stitch Maps, so there’s an increased chance of mistakes, though I double-checked everything a couple extra times.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Yearn needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.

Happy: a lace knitting stitch pattern

The second word I drew from the words suggested on Patreon last month is Happy, suggested by Cathy D, a Patreon supporter. I’ve long wanted to design something along the lines of Traveling Vine lace (in the sense of making something like a meandering river), and I think I’ve finally done it. So this makes me happy.

Each month, my Patreon backers have the chance to suggest words for me to encode as knitting stitches. I make three of these into knitting stitches each month: the second and third (posted on the first day of the next month) are drawn from the collection of new words; the first is drawn from the collection of unused words. A random number generator helps me choose these, and then I get to work, first turning the letters into numbers, then charting the numbers onto grids in various ways. Finally, when I make the chart into lace, I turn the marked squares into yarnovers and work out where to place the corresponding decreases. (I usually make lace; occasionally I make cables instead.) I also made a Happy needlework chart for any craft that uses a square grid for designing.

The stitch patterns are not meant in any way to look like the original words; the words are the seeds of my creativity.