Oolong knits

Stephanie Lotven's Sock Arms sweaters are a colourful dream. The original model was knit in fingering weight yarn, with arms knit in self-striping sock yarn, hence the name. For today's candy I chose her worsted-weight pattern , because I'm not a masochist and only the idea of knitting an entire sweater in fingering weight hurts.

How to grow Rhubarb Of the rhubarb plant, only the stalks are eaten. The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous. Rhubarb is easy to grow and usually pest free, but needs cool weather to thrive. Propagation It's possible to grow from seed, but usually crowns of young plants are used. If growing from seed, sow directly in spring. Sow several seeds and then choose the strongest seedling. Planting out Plant crowns in late autumn to mid winter. Before planting, eliminate all perennial weeds. Spacing: at least 1 meter apart. Site: sunny (or partial shade). Well-drained (will not withstand water-logging in winter) and rich soil (rhubarb is a heavy feeder). Harvest Avoid harvesting in 1st year. Harvest a few stems in the 2nd. Freely harvest after 3rd year. Always leave at least 2 stalks per plant to ensure continued production. If the stalks become thin, stop harvesting; this means the plant’s food reserves are low. Care In autumn, mulch generously with a heavy lay...

I love the simple beauty of this yoke.  A very ingenious idea.  This is Miala by Renée Callahan.

Ainur Berkimbayeva is a very promising young designer and the beautiful Alatau Pullover is the main reason I think so.

I have recently discovered Emily Greene, an amazing designer.  I found it really hard to choose a single of her projects to highlight here, because I have a long list of favourites.  In the end, I've settled for Linocut .  This pattern includes instructions to knit three different projects: a triangle shawl, a scarf and a larger wrap.  All made with the beautiful lace pattern you see in the photo.

I've always loved designing as much as I do knitting. This means I hardly ever follow a pattern, not even one of my own creation, as I keep making modifications as new ideas come along. Knitting, like any other visual art, involves both aesthetics and technique. Accordingly, there are two aspects of designing patterns that I love: one is the pleasure of creative thinking, playing with colour, texture and shape, and the other the problem solving aspect of it. When I see a knitted garment, my first thought is often "How is that done?" and solving that puzzle all by myself is one of the reason I usual don't ever buy patterns. The other being that during or after the often lengthy process of solving the puzzle, a bunch of modifications and improvements have already occurred to me. So, why buy a pattern when I have a much better idea, right? One limitation I have been feeling very keenly lately, when it comes to designing, is the available yarn in my stash. I h...