Reversible Cable Scarf Class

I taught a Reversible Cable Scarf Class this weekend at the Tangled Web. My students were extra-great this time! They all buckled down, and even the ones that had never cabled before tried cabling without a cable needle (gratuitous promotional note: all MK cable patterns include instructions for cabling without a cable needle). After knitting all those cable pattern samples and making approximately 12 billion cables in the process, I am a BIG believer in cabling without a cable needle. I highly recommend it.

Here are my great students, concentrating hard:

You guys rock!

Gansey Madness!

It occurred to me the other day that not everyone knows what a gansey is. I've been throwing the word around for months to non-knitters who politely nod when I tell them how many ganseys I've been working on. I assumed they knew what I was talking about, but they probably didn't and maybe didn't want to know! Anyway, a gansey or guernsey, is a fisherman's knitted woollen sweater, similar to a jersey, which originated in the Channel Island of the same name. (thank you, wikipedia) Ganseys usually have a textured pattern on the yoke and upper sleeves alone.

And now (drumroll please) here is what I have been working on for the past six months. PHEW. Welcome Chesnut Hill Ganseys!

In ascending size, American Girl Doll Chestnut Hill Gansey:


Baby Chestnut Hill Gansey:


Child's Chestnut Hill Gansey:


Adult Chestnut Hill Gansey:


Baby Chestnut Hill Gansey Hat:


Adult Chestnut Hill Gansey Hat (worsted weight):


Adult Chestnut Hill Gansey Hat (chunky weight):


There's also a child's hat, which I couldn't find (aren't you sorry??) and another baby hat. Yes, I have that cobblestones-and-trolley-tracks pattern burned into my brain forever. We took the pattern pictures for these samples this past weekend and now the patterns are being put into final graphic form. Boy howdy, will I be glad when they're ready to go! It's like giving birth!

Stay tuned, they'll be ready for purchase next week. And if you're not already a member of my Facebook Group, go join! I'm thinking I'll have something special going on for the debut of these patterns. Just sayin'....

And because I'm nuts, I'm also work on this because I realized there should be CH Gansey Cardigans too:

That's the back of the Baby Chestnut Hill Gansey Cardigan. Madness!!

Braces rule!

Welcome to Infinite Yarns in Farmingdale, New York and Knit Witz in Jacksonville, Florida! Phew! It took me a while to get ahead of the welcoming-new-stores business, but I am now officially caught up. And it's a nice problem to have, so I'm not complaining!

My Tendinitis Brace and Wrist Brace are my new best friends! I went to the very nice orthopedist (thank you, Ted Feldman!) last week, and he recommended doing everything I had already been doing (rest, ice, ibuprophen), but to also start wearing these braces - the TB during the day and the WB at night (because we all have a tendency to sleep with our arms and hands all curled up, which is bad for tendinitis - who knew?) Well, the braces have made a huge difference! I've been able to knit again!

I had farmed out the remaining Chestnut Hill Gansey samples to my test knitter, Maureen, to finish, so I was left with nothing Momogus-y to knit. So of course I started a Olympics cardigan and some mittens and a blanket for a friend who was just diagnosed with cancer. I had a lot of knitting backed up in me after the last couple of months! But the wheels are turning about some new patterns, so expect to see a lot coming down the pike in the next couple of months. Tomorrow I will post some pictures.

Shameless plug: I'm hosting a Momogus Knits Patterns Trunk Show and Party at The Tangled Web on March 26 from 6-8 pm. That will be the official unveiling of the Chestnut Hill Gansey patterns, plus I'll have lots of samples of all of my other patterns, plus wine! Yeah! Stop by if you're in the neighborhood! We always have a lot of fun!

Finally, the Gus of Momogus just turned 10. Happy Birthday, my beloved boy:

This and That (new pattern preview too!)

First of all, a warm welcome to the latest additions to the Momogus Knits family: The Knitting Connection in Syracuse, NY, Keeping Ewe in Stitches in Bradford, PA, Have Ewe Any Wool? in Snyder, NY, Mission Rose Quiltery in North Syracuse, NY, Yarn Cottage at Red Brick Farm (wouldn't you like to live there? In a yarn cottage?!) in Mayville, NY, and Infinite Yarns in Farmingdale, NY. As always, if you're ever in the neighborhood of any of these fine stores, go in and force yourself to buy some beautiful yarn and maybe a pattern or two! We have to support our local yarn stores, folks!!

In other Momogus Knits news, who's this adorable lady? It's Kathleen, with her gorgeous Easy Cable Scarf!


This appeared as well this week, courtesy of customer Helen. This is Easy Baby Cardigan - I lurve the beauteous Merino 2000. Great job, Helen!


Finally, I have a preview of the next Momogus Knits pattern! Finally! It's the Totally Twisty Toe-Up Tube Sock!

Here it is being modeled by a grumpy almost-10-yr-old:


Close-up of the Totally Twisty rib pattern (worsted weight):


Here it is in sportweight variegated yarn:


The pattern is written for fingering, sport and worsted weight yarns and sizes from baby up to large adult. I LOVE a tube sock because there is no heel. Yippee! And the ribbed pattern makes them fit in a nice way. I will keep you all posted, but I expect to have this pattern out in the next week or so.

We're Back!

We're back from a beautiful week out at the end of Long Island. Many walks on a beach that looks like this are very refreshing for the soul!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to knit much, but my arm is feeling better after doing nothing more strenuous than lifting spoonfuls of local clam chowder, so I'm hoping that I will be able to dislodge the logjam of pending Momogus Knits samples and get all those new patterns out!

Now, back to business! Welcome to The Blue Purl in Madison, New Jersey; Mountain Knits and Pearls in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; Twisted in Millerton, New York; and PK Yarn Over Knit in Clarkson, Michigan. Remember to support your local yarn store!! If you're ever in the neighborhood of any of these delightful stores, drop in and contribute to the local economy!!

Here is customer Elaine, who came into the store the other day and showed me these:

Yowzah! She had made six Momogus Knits Cable Ear Flap Hats for the whole family! And what really knocked my socks off was this (knitting nerd alert!):

There is a definite front and back to these hats which is a little difficult to determine when you pick them up (there is an additional cable repeat in the front to make the hat sit properly on your head - your ears sit more than halfway back on your head, which I didn't realize until I started making samples for this pattern. The things you learn.) Anyway, Elaine very cleverly sewed a little knot of yarn in the back of these hats to show which was the back. You would have thought she discovered the meaning of life the way I carried on when I saw this! I thought that was so clever! It made me so happy!

Yes, that is my life.

Off to Amagansett!

Did you think I fell off the face of the earth? My ding-dang knitting arm has been riddled with tendinitis the last couple of weeks and that puts quite a damper on my spare time. I actually cleaned the house! Baked bread from scratch! Reorganized the basement! I finally went to the doctor's and he prescribed gigantic anti-inflammatory drugs for me and my arm is getting back to normal. But no knitting yet.

In the meantime, we're off on our annual trip out to the beautiful end of Long Island to house-sit for my beloved Aunt Jane. Even though I can't knit, I'll just have to soothe myself by walking here two or three times a day:


And eating here as often as I can:


I can also catch up on my field goal kicking practice:


I'll be back in a week, hopefully healed up and ready to get back into knitting overdrive!

Are You Aware Of Ravelry?

In talking with customers and other knitters, I am often surprised at how many knitters are unaware of the existence of Ravelry. If you are one of those lucky folks (lucky because you have Christmas morning ahead of you!) who didn't know about Ravelry, get thyself over to the website pronto, sign up, and await the wonders that are ahead of you. It's free!

I remember almost three years ago when I read on someone's blog about a new website that was starting up that would be a sort of gigantic database for knitters. I signed up, was unimpressed, and forgot about it until a few months later when I started to hear whispers and shouts all over the internet: "ravelry! Ravelry! RAVELRY!" Now I can't imagine my knitting life without it.

Those of you who are already on Ravelry know what a mighty resource it is. For those of you who don't know, it is a way to keep track of projects, find new projects, search thousands and thousands of patterns, find kindred souls, find yarn stores, you name it. In addition to joining the logical discussion groups for designers, I've also joined groups for American Idol, "Mad Men", The Tangled Web (my local yarn store), and Patrick O'Brian (one of my favorite authors). It's everything you need to know about knitting and so much more.

'Nuff said. I just want to make sure you all are aware of this insanely valuable resource. My user name is "momogus" - make me your friend on Ravelry! I love meeting new knitters and seeing what they're making.