RIO GRANDE BAG

My intarsia bag, knit with stash silk and wool dk yarns, originated as an interest in Rio Grande blankets woven in the 1800s. I chose solid and variegated yarns to give it the feel of the color changes we see in those blankets today due to dye lot changes and years of fading. The blankets' designs and natural dyes allow our imaginations to rediscover the hues of sky, land and water of the southwestern United States.

This knitting pattern is available from rjknit patterns at Ravelry.com

Folk Pattern Bag

Folk traditions in the fiber arts have always interested me.

When I was a young knitter I was dazzled by Latvian mitten patterns. I tried making a pair but my patience was not what it is today. If I remember correctly, I made a beautiful half mitten and never completed the pattern.

Now that I'm older and have ample patience I've decided to adapt a traditional motif for a flat knitted bag using Jamieson's DK. It's 10 x 9.5 inches excluding the shoulder strap, lined with silk fabric and decorated with 3-strand silk braids. If you are interested in making this bag, the pattern is available from RJ Knit Patterns at ravelry.com.

Twisted Rib Top

When I designed this top, the 1st version began as an olive (1x1 plain rib) short sleeve top knit with worsted weight cotton yarn. It was laced with a pumpkin silk satin weave lace.

I wore it one evening when my husband and I were asked to have dinner with two other couples. At the end of dinner Cindy asked "Where did you get that sweater?!" When I answered I designed and knit it she asked, "May I have one?"

At that point I knew another knitter may want this pattern, and with that in mind I made a 2nd version, sleeveless, and finally this twisted rib one with three quarter length sleeves.

This pattern is sized 30-32 (34-36) and is available to purchase at Ravelry.com for Ravelry members.

If you decide to make one I hope you receive the same response from your friends that I did after dinner.

9 out of 10 times...

When I buy an interesting ball of yarn and want to design with it, 9 out of 10 times I'll reach for knitting needles. The 10th time..... I'll noodle with a crochet hook. (You can only drop one stitch at a time when you're crocheting!)
My crocheted evening bag is an example of this. The design grew out of several other small bag patterns I've made in the past, only this one is different in that I wanted it to look elegant. To achieve this I added silk ribbon drawstrings loosely tied at the sides.
I found Anny Blatt PIROULI yarn slightly difficult to work with because the yarn plies moved independently of each other, but I'm sure this could be remedied by substituting another interesting cotton or silk yarn.

The pattern, and the others (below) are available @RJKnit Patterns for Ravelry members at ravelry.com .

Silk Beret and Sampler Scarf

My favorite color is green and 2nd to green are all of the neutral naturals.

When I look in my stash bags I find multiple values and hues of green along side natural colors and I know when arranged well they all look good together.

My sampler scarf and beret project began that way. I knew the beret would have to be green (of course), and the rest of the stash greens and naturals would become the scarf.

The scarf is made up of 13 different patterned bands knit with Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, offset with stash yarn stripes of garter stitch. The total yardage, 700 - 800 yards of DK yarns, when completed makes a scarf 60 x 9.5 inches.

The best benefit of making a stash scarf..... it matches all of the knit projects you've already made that made possible your stash bag!

The beret and sampler scarf patterns are available @ RJKnit patterns for members at ravelry.com

Knit Shoulder Pouch

Jamieson's of Shetland has a color palate unlike other yarn companies. If you've knit with their yarn to make Fair Isle sweaters or felted bags you know what I mean. The multiple color flecks within each skein of yarn adds an interesting visual dimension to the final knitted surface and there are many colors to choose from.

I decided to design a flat knitted bag with my own 2-color pattern using Jamieson's DK. It was enjoyable experimenting with their color palate on a small project. The finished size is 8x8 inches. The pouch looks good with casual or dress outfits and can be made in your favorite color combination! If you are interested in purchasing the pattern it is available for Ravelry Members on ravelry.com @ RJ Knit Patterns. I am designing more flat bags and will post the new designs as future entries at this blogsite.