I am a big fan of podcasts.  I watch/listen to many knitting, crafting, gardening, and more.  One of my favorite things that some of these podcasts do is review what they've completed in the last month as well as what is still in progress and looking ahead.

Well, I have realized I am not great at editing videos and I honestly don't have the time to record.  So, I figured I would start throwing up a short review each month and talk about what I've been working and finished.  I have considered WIPs, but I don't want too much overlap between months.

The first project I finished was the Neptun Sweater by Gitte Juhler.  I started knitting the sweater February 8th and completed it on March 7th.  So, it took me a whole month to complete, but I am SO happy I made it.  The sweater has a very striking colorwork pattern and utilizes a new to me float carrying technique called the Back-Laddar Jaquard stitch.   Essentially, the floats are knit into a hidden secondary netting behind the sweater.  I  thought it was fun to learn and made the sweater double thick, warm, and cozy!

I did modify the pattern a bit due to different yarn weight and choice in needle size.  You can find out more about my modifications on my project page here.

Next, I completed a Four Points Baby Blanket by Purl Soho. I would like to preface in saying that I am not sharing the completed blanket as I still need to gift it and want it to mostly say a secret. I also say finished as all the knitting is done with this blanket, but I plan to add a fabric backing to it sometime in the future. 

If you have knit the Four Points Blanket in the past you will notice that mine varies slightly as well.  I chose to knit mine in a stockinette pattern instead of a garter stitch pattern.  My original intent was to embroider some words on the front using a duplicate stitch.  I am unsure if I will continue with that thought though.  All in all, it's a really easy blanket to make and quite beautiful.  I am going to make two smaller ones with scraps and graft them together to make a pillow in April.

Finally, I finished my March pair of socks.  I am joining in Kato Yarn Company's The Great Sock Knit Together 2023.

This pair of socks was a bit of an experiment.  I knit a basic vanilla sock, but tried honeycomb brioche on the heel flap.  It made the heel flap flare out, but the heel turn cinches in the stitches nicely.  You may think the at then there could be too much fabric around the heel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case when I put the socks on to wear. 

The yarn I used comes form Yarn Love Yarn  and is the colorway "Lucky" on her Jane Austen sock base. It's a beautiful base with just the right amount of sparkle.  The greens, blues, and greys of the colorway also lent to a nice connection to St. Patrick's day and Spring!

AND...

There you have it.  My March Review.  It was a lot of knitting this month, but I loved every minute of it.  I am currently in the process of having a new sock pattern tested.  So, stick around to hear more about it in April! 


-MissNiss

On February 13th I released the Chocolate Hearts Cowl pattern in my Ravelry and Etsy stores.  After a month of the pattern being out I finally decided I'd talk a little about the design here.

Last year I designed a Sock Pattern that centered around a heart motif created using a combination of colorwork and a modified folded picot edge.  I personally loved the cute little hearts that circle your ankle as you wear the socks.  So, naturally I needed to design another pattern using the same technique.

I thought it over and decided I am not ready to design a sweater, a hat wouldn't work with the design construction, and mittens seemed a little too similar to the socks, but for your hands.  I eventually landed on making a cowl.

Now, if you look WAY make in my design history you will find a nice little double thick, worsted weight cowl under the name of the Moustache Cowl.  It is a nice, quick pattern.  However, there is a seam on the inside of the cowl.  I have grow quite a bit since I wrote that pattern and learned new techniques which aided in the construction of this new cowl.

The Chocolate Hearts Cowl is a double thick cowl knit like it's predecessor, but knit in DK weight yarn. This cowl is cast-on provisionally and finished with the cast-on stitches and final round grafted together with the kitchener stitch.  This creates a seamless, professional looking cowl that YOU made. The delightful heart pattern is created with a picot edge modification and simple stranded color work. Two colors work together to create a reversible cowl. Choose colors with high contrast, so your hearts really pop!

I was so proud of the pattern that I decided to team up with a local to me indie dyer Shelly of Kato Yarn Company.  Together, we created two color sets that could be used as a special colorway just for this pattern.  The inspiration was chocolate hearts that are typically found in the seasonal aisle of your grocery store leading up to Valentine's Day.

However, Valentine's Day was not my goal for this pattern.  My intent was to release the pattern on Galentine's Day!  You could order Shelly's lovely yarn for yourself or friend and knit the Chocolate Hearts cowl together while maybe enjoying some real chocolate hearts on the side!

The two colors inspired by chocolate are the cream and brown colorways seen in the photograph above.

Lady Godiva (light white chocolate)

Brownie Batter (dark milk chocolate)

The complimentary colors are the beautiful soft pink and rich red.

JuJu (red)

Sweatheart (pink)

If you'd like the colorways go to her shop NOW there are still a few skeins left in stock.  While you are there grab a few more skeins, she has beautiful colorways and her yarn is excellent to work with.


I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little bit more into the creation of the Chocolate Hearts Cowl.  If you haven't grabbed your own copy head on over to either of my stores through the links above.

Happy Knitting Fiber Friends!

Annissa
MissNiss

I am definitely the type of person who will make something for you as a gift if I can.  I love the idea that I can choose specific colors and textures that you may no find in the store and make something unique.  With every stitch I am thinking of the recipient and weaving all my love into the fabric I create.

So, through the month of December I spent a lot of time furiously knitting socks as part of a knit-a-long, but also a few odds and ends for gifts.   I was pretty surprised at the amount of objects I finished.  In the spirit of being better at documenting my f/o's and giving you some inspirations I thought I would share all my 2022 Christmas gift knits.

As a heads up, I will link all my Ravelry project pages so that you can find more information about the yarn, needles, and any notes I made.

      I recently pulled out the rest of our Christmas books.  My family has quite the collection of holiday stories to fill our days during the cold, dark days of December.  Many are traditional stories, some are from a series, and others have been lovingly hand sewn by loved ones. 
      While looking through them I found Merry Christmas, Curious George.  So, I read through the book with my family and noticed something sweet.  George was wearing a beautiful scarf while looking for a Christmas tree for the Man in the Yellow Hat and his home. 
     This reminded me that DD was gifted the book and a George plush from family a couple years ago.  Naturally, this George needed a scarf as well.  It is quite cold!
      I looked at the picture in the book and did my best to imitate the color pattern that was illustrated in George's scarf.  In my version I omitted the fringe end, but if you prefer a tassel-y fringe it is easy to add!

Rejoice Sock knitters, the Vanilla Ridge Sock pattern is now available in a toe-up pattern! 

I realized that not everyone enjoys a cuff down sock.  I think they do fit my feet a little better, too.  So, I looked through my sock yarn and pulled some left-overs to knit up a sample of the toe up version.

This particular pair features contrasting toe, heel, and cuff.

The process is pretty straightforward to an experienced sock knitter, but I thought I would give you a few hints on how to achieve this look with your own set of Vanilla Ridge Socks with contrasting colors

It may not be summer, but you can still knit your BFF a friendship bracelet inspired sock.

MissNissDesigns released this fantastic pattern at the beginning of November.

You can find the pattern on
Ravelry   or   Etsy


A Little about the Pattern:
This sock pattern is knit cuff-down and features a three color Latvian braid, a unique multicolored slip stitch heel, and a colorwork ribbon pattern at the toe that reflects the friendship braid at the cuff.
Pattern is written for DPNs, but preferred sock knitting method may be substituted.

Yarn:
Fingering weight SWM/Nylon blend - 437 yds/100g
Main Color - 50-75g/300-400yds
Contrast Color 1 - 10g/45yds
Contrast Color 2 - 10g/45yds
Contrast Color 3 - 10g/45yds


Let me know if you knit the Summer Camp BFFs Socks by tagging @missnissdesigns on instagram <3

As stated in my 2022 goals, I wanted to start writing and publishing patterns again this year.  So, here is my first pattern!

Meet the Vanilla Ridge Socks

Vanilla socks with a twist! I created the Vanilla Ridge Sock Pattern to be a mindless knit with a bit of textural interest. I love the squishy feel of the garter stitch. To me, garter stitch feels warm and comforting. So, I added this stitch to the part of the foot I feel needs the most love, Heels and Toes!

I first published these socks in February, but am finally debuting them here.  <3  These are seriously some of my favorite socks to wear.  They are so cozy and squishy.

There are four sizes and three cuff lengths included in the pattern

You can find the patterns both in my Etsy and Ravelry stores.  I hope you grab it and knit yourself up one or three pairs like I did! ;)

I have been looking for some Disney themed knit or crochet projects I could make for gifts.  Rapunzel was my most recent search through Ravelry.  There aren't very many option.  However, I came across this lovely Rapunzel inspired scarf pattern.  It is written by the creative Juli from the Once Upon a Cheerio blog.  The Rapunzel's Braided Scarf Pattern can be found in the highlighted link.

This pattern is quite simple, however, the magic braid can be a bit confusing.  I believe Juli wanted to offer a better tutorial on the method, but didn't have much to offer.  She did provide a diagram for the magic braid, but I think a more in depth picture tutorial might be a bigger help to some. 

That's where I come in!  This Rapunzel pattern is so wonderful, but I think the braid might be keeping others from sinking in and making more.  Below I have offered a step by step picture tutorial on how to execute the magic braid.

I made mine a bit shorter for the little one I am making the scarf for, used a different hook size, and crocheted with a single strand of worsted instead of two.  I am also toying with the idea of putting some applique flowers onto the braids.   That way the scarf looks like Rapunzel's hair in Tangled when she visits the village.

You can find all the notes on my Ravelry Project Page.

Before you start, I want to point out that the works for all the braid sections of the scarf.  I simply photographed the end piece of the scarf, because it was my last one.  I used the rest of the braid sections as practice, so I could get this right for you!

Now, just repeat these steps 5 more times as the pattern is written.  Then voila, you have a wonderful Rapunzel inspired scarf.

I hope this tutorial helped and we get to see many more of the scarves in the future.  Thanks to Juli for writing a cute, quick, and satisfying pattern.

Happy Stitching!

MissNiss

Follow Me on Instagram and use #missnissdesigns so I can see all your wonderful projects <3

Hello New Year

I have given myself a month to sit on it and I think this year is going to be a good one.  That is what I am putting out into the universe!  2022, you and I are going to do some wonderful things.

I took some time in January to really think about what I want my knitting and crochet to be like this year.  What are the goals I am working toward?  What excites me? -color, texture, construction? Most of all though how to manage my time/anxieties with self imposed deadlines.

To begin here are some of my loose goals for 2022

1. Knit up STASH
     I have a few project ideas to use up my stash.  The stash I am mostly thinking about are partial used skeins or ends of projects that are just a few yards, but I kept anyway.  The first project I would like to make is a stripey, scrappy sweater with a neutral color as the main color and the stripes will just be random ends that I have.
     Another project idea I have is to finish (and maybe make another) scrappy granny square pillow I have done.  The first pillow is a WIP that has been in hibernation for about 5 years now.  I would really like to finish it to add to my office.

2. Design More
     I have a few designs I have in shop, but I would like to make more.  I am already starting on this goal.  I have designs a new sock pattern called the Vanilla Ridge Sock.  It is in testing right now, but will make its debut on February 16th!
     I do have a couple more ideas in mind for design projects I can work on the rest of the year, but I am not pushing myself in case I cannot follow through with them.  They are ideas and I want the process to be fun.  So, I will slowly dip my toes into designing again.  If I only manage to get this one pattern out this year, YAY!

3. Knit for Me
     I tend to knit a lot for others.  I make things for my family and friends, especially little ones.   I have been doing more self knitting this the past year, but would like to do more.  I completed a sweater for myself this fall and have one as a WIP currently.  I also made myself a couple pairs of  thick slipper socks and 5 pairs of fingering weight socks. 
     I am not sure what projects I  will choose for myself other than the ones on my needles and the stash using concept.   What patterns do you love that might make a nice self knit for me or others reading this?

4. Use More Natural Fibers
     While I am certainly okay with using acrylics (don't come for me), I want to venture into using more wools and wools form different sheep if possible.  Maybe some plant fibers, silk, and mohair as well. 
     Unfortunately, the one animal fiber I cannot use is Alpaca. I bought some beautiful green baby alpaca yarn ages ago and finally decided to try to knit something with it last winter.  As I knit and snuggled the soft yarn my body decided to let me know that was a no, no.  My face broke out into a rash the next day and I noticed as I tried on the garment my skin would feel hot.  I frogged the project and the yarn now just mocks me as it sits on my shelf, unused.


Four seems to be a good round number.  I think I will stop there.  I am excited to see how the year goes and what goals I may meet!

Do you have any knitting/crochet goals this year? 

Autumn has come where I live.  Crisp, colorful leaves.  Cool and cozy weather.  Handmade knits are officially coming out of storage.  I am talking sweaters, cardigans, slippers, socks, shawls...you name it!  Chilly weather also tends to get me in the mood to knit.  Ah, October, could you get any better?

October also brings Socktober.  Socktober is used as a time to focus on sock knitting.  Not only are socks an easy and quick knit, it will help you get a leg (or foot) up on gift knitting.  There are lots of knit alongs and make alongs to partake in.  Some on Instagram or Ravelry.  Some dyers and designers offer specials on their products related to sock knitting, too.

This year I am planning to partake in some Socktober festivities by knitting as may socks as I have time for.  I hope to have many to share with you all!

Before I begin I'd like to share of few of my favorite free sock patterns that can be found on Ravelry. 

DK Weight Vanilla Socks by Crazy Sock Lady Designs

Hermione's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder

Rose City Rollers by Mara Catherine Bryner

Nola's Slippers by Nola Miller

The last two I have knit myself and can find on my Ravelry Project Page.  The first two I hope to try out this Socktober.

Oh! If you are new to sock knitting I would highly suggest checking out the Crazy Sock Lady Youtube page.  She has many tutorials to walk you through your first socks and add new techniques to your sock knitting.

Happy Knitting, friends!