Thom with a "TH" - A Knitting Pattern

Despite the craziness of my life, I have managed to do a little knitting. I know, you all are calling my bluff - a "little" is a bit of an understatement.

Anyway, I've put a few patterns out there, so I will be rolling them out on the blog over the next few days.

The first one is a sweater I designed for my nephew, Thomas Russell. 

I call it Thom with a "TH"

One of my favourite things to do as a knitwear designer is run test knits. For this sweater I had test knitters from across the world, as far as England, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Norway, Germany and Lithuania, and also had neighbors to the south, in Nebraska, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Utah, and two fellow Canadians, from Montreal and Sudbury. Check out their projects and more here: 

Thom with a "TH" is easy, and cute, and can be embellished in so many ways.

So, for $4.00 you can !!!

Rhymes with Shawl - A Knitting Pattern

Well, while I haven't been blogging much, I have been knitting.  This month I released a new pattern, Rhymes with Shawl. I think this is one of my favourites!

It is knit in worsted weight yarn and sized from 6 months to 10 years.  My favourite part of it is the endless possibilities of color combinations. Talk about major stash buster!

I am incredibly indebted to the 13 wonderful women from across the globe who test knit this pattern for me.  Check out their projects, and others that are being created, here:

You can buy this pattern directly by clicking here: , or heading over to Ravelry and purchasing it there.

Seven Months - A Knitting Pattern

I've had this little gem ready for quite a while, but just haven't had the chance to publish the pattern.  This tunic was knit as a direct response to the years of stuffing huge fluffy dresses into snowpants, as a child. It never turned out well.  And, with at least seven months of snowpants weather in Canada, there were a lot of opportunities to crumple my favourite party dress long before I got to the party.  With this tunic, any little girl can look darling, without having to worry about being cold or under-dressed.  

The pattern is written for girls 18 months to 10 years of age.  It has options for sleeveless, 3/4 length and full length sleeves, and for tunic or dress length. It was test knit by 11 amazing women across the globe.

As usual, it can be purchased from Ravelry, or you can purchase it right her, right now, but clicking this little button:   You can also check out all the other projects made from this pattern right here:

Frippery - A Knitting Pattern

I'm excited to release my next knitting design. This one took me a little while, as I had to re-knit it before I decided I really loved it.  But love it I do! 

Introducing Frippery!

My sweet friend, Ruby, was a reluctant, but perfect model for this little sweater.  Love her!

According to Mr. Webster, “frippery” describes something both elegant and showy but also frivolous and nonessential. Well, while puffed sleeves and ruffles may be frivolous to some, to me they are a necessity in any girl’s wardrobe. This little sweater is perfect for the elegant girl in your life looking for something just a little bit frivolous!

As always, my patterns are for sale on Ravelry, but if you want it right here right now, you can always !  Who's stopping you?

As always, I am ever thankful for the wonderful women who test knit my patterns for me, making them ready for everyone else!   

Here's to a little frippery in all of our lives!

A Pattern Giveaway!

Today I sold my 100th pattern on Ravelry!  I realize I'm still a small time designer, but 100 is pretty cool.  To celebrate I am offering a giveaway for those who may want to knit one of my patterns: one free pattern of the winner's choice!   To enter go to Ravelry and comment on this thread. On Friday I will randomly draw a winner.  Thanks everyone for helping me get there!

Grow Old With Me

Well, it's taken me FOREVER, but I've finally got my newest knitting pattern ready for publication!

You've seen it before, but here it is again, Grow Old With Me, the perfect 'old man' sweater for your little man!  This sweater was really a labour of love. I designed it with my Mr E in mind.  He picked the yarn, the buttons, and specifically requested the five stripes for his fifth birthday!  And now, he would rather wear his "birthday sweater" than any other.  He is such a joy to me, this little man.

It is available on Ravelry for your downloading pleasure, or you can buy it now, right here: !  Please enjoy, and as always, feel free to share with me your finished products:

Birthday Stripes

Remember when I said I was knitting Eli a sweater for his birthday in June?  Well, I had so much fun knitting that that as soon as I finished I started knitting Silas one for his birthday in September.  And then I just couldn't wait for September to put it on him, so now both my boys have stripes for their birthdays!

I haven't been able to do a real photo shoot yet, but today I took a few shots in the house. I figured I had better get them photographed before they get too loved.

Here's Eli's sweater. He picked the yarn, and requested five stripes for five years. It's my own design, which I will have tested once my holidays are over, and release the pattern.  Anyone interested in testing???

And Silas's sweater: the 8 stripes have no significance. There are three stars though, so let's say they are for his three years of life. This pattern is called Gathering Stripes and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  I am going to have to make one for me one day.  It's been so hot, I've barely been able to get Silas in it, but he didn't seem too miserable today, so I snuck it on and took a few shots.  What a cutie! 

Amelia - An Angel Dress

Let's pretend that my MIA status is because of all the crazy adventuring we've been doing of late, okay?

Actually, it may be because I've been knitting (I'm always knitting).  Eli wants a sweater for his birthday, which is this Friday (WHAT!?!) and my fingers have been busy, knitting away.

A few weeks ago I finished a little baby dress for my sister-in-law who is pregnant right now.  Last year she had a sweet baby girl, Amelia, who only lived for 7 short hours.  I have wanted to design something in memory of her for a long time.  First I thought I would make a quilt and come up with a quilt block for her, but really, knitting seems to be my obsession of late, so I stuck with that.  I found this amazing little lace pattern for an angel, and thus was born my new dress pattern: Amelia.

See those sweet little angels along the hem?  I just love them. They are easy to knit too - you just need to know how to knit a bobble (nothing a few minutes on You Tube can't teach you) and the rest is simple.

The dress is already in the hands of it's new owner, and if she doesn't have a baby girl, well, it will have to wait to be worn by a baby sister later.

 Of course, my little "Angel" doesn't mind modeling.

There's the angels on the hem. 

And one on each shoulders, to help our babies fly. 

And there you have it, my newest pattern. I had a lot of fun knitting this one, and if you are so inclined, you can too!  Check out my pattern on Ravelry, and Craftsy or pick up a copy of your own right now. 

This time I had 15 amazing women test knit the pattern for me.  I honestly couldn't have finished it up without their help. Check out their handiwork here:

As always, let me know what you think of it, and feel free to share your pictures!

Edith with golden hair

When my Grandma Jackson was born, her parents had a certain, unknown, name picked out for her.  In our church, early in a baby's life, a priesthood holder, usually the baby's father, gives the child a priesthood blessing, where they offer the baby's name for the records of the church.  In 1912, in the southern Alberta Mormon community of Hillspring, that occasion was more than official enough to be the finite naming ceremony of any child.  In any case, on the morning that my Grandma was to be named the name that her parents had picked, my great-grandfather sat in the church pew between his two older sons, waiting for the moment in the service where he would go up and name his youngest daughter and give her a priesthood blessing.  Those two boys had decided that they knew better what their baby sister should be named, and while the other orders of business were being conducted in the meeting, they sat, reciting over and over the words to a Longfellow poem, "The Children's Hour" into their father's ears. When their father got up to give the blessing, and proceeded to state the name of his newborn daughter, he could not remember the name that he and his wife had picked, and could only remember the words of the poem:

"From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair."

And, with only the names from the poem in his head, he gave my grandma the name Edythe Allegra instead.  Grandma was always so proud of her name, and loved the story of how her brothers had named her.  If the little one inside me is a SHE, she will be named after her great-grandma.  She will be Edythe.  

And so, when I designed my first knit sweater, I just had to name it after my grandma.  I've shown a few pictures of the sweater, and here it is, in all it's finality!  I have learned a whole lot knitting this sweater, and writing up the pattern.  I had twelve amazing women who tested my pattern and helped me through the process. Doing the test was so much fun, and my testers so willing to help.  Who knew that knitting could be such an international experience: of the twelve there were one each from Belgium, Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, the Ukraine, England, and from Canada, two from Norway, and three from the US.  That's crazy!  You can check out their incredible work by going to the pattern page on Ravelry, then clicking on the projects on the right hand side of the page.  I can't thank these women enough.


I am currently NOT knitting anything new before the baby arrives, but I do have several other designs in my head, seeing as how this one was so much fun!

If you are interested in the pattern, it can be on Ravelry, or on Craftsy, as a PDF download, which will magically arrive in your inbox just as soon as you buy it. You can also just click here:   You will love it, I promise!

I've Run Out of Yarn, Thank Goodness

I've been knitting. Actually, I haven't stopped knitting.  But, being as close as I am to having this baby, I am happy to report that but for a few small, non-essential projects I'm working on, I've run out of things to knit and yarn to knit it with.  And that's a good thing.  So, here's what I've knit the last little bit:

This darling baby sweater.  I did this as a test knit, so the pattern isn't available yet.  I really love it!  And, with the leftovers I made one of my favourite hats to match.  Its a 12 month size, so hopefully it will fit my baby in the winter. If this baby is anything like my boys, they will be monsters, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I did take an action shot of my favourite (at the moment - I'm reserving that spot for another baby soon enough) baby.  Here's Sam, modelling the sweater.

And Silas wanted in on the action.  A little small, but he sure is cute!

And then, using elements of the sweater above and this one, I knit up this one, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! 

And, Eli.  What more can I say.

And, coming soon to a blog near you, this is a sweater I designed all by myself!  It is currently in testing, and I am so excited for it.  I love ruffles.  Thankfully, if I don't have a girl, my sister-in-law Laura is having one, so it will be worn.  Feel free to ooh and aah and wait with baited breath until I release the pattern. Yeah!

So, now I just have to finish the quilt I've made (just needs 3/4 of the binding sewn on), the birth bin gone through, the house kept clean, and I'll be ready for this baby. Oh, and I would love to magically wake up to a freezer full of meals. That would be magical.