I am so excited to show this to you all! My new pattern, Nuverandi will be released THIS Friday by Expression Fiber Arts! It will be FREE for a limited time. Check back in Friday for more pictures and the link to the pattern. Or, you can sign up for the EFA newsletter to get the email when the pattern goes live Friday morning!
We’ll have to wait a few more days. In the meantime, you can get a quick, closer sneak peek on Chandi’s Facebook Live from Expression Fiber Arts today!
I have spent very little time on the blog over the past few years. I’ve been lazy and posting more on my Facebook page than actually creating posts here. I’m going to try to catch up. I’ll post some items I’ve shared over there during the last few years, and I’ll try to keep current here.
Visions of Holly – Fingering Weight
My last post about my D.C. Yarn actually resulted in a couple different patterns! The arcade stitch is a beautiful, open stitch. However, it’s not very warm. So I designed a 3-in-one cowl. It includes a turtleneck section that is folded inside the arcade stitch section to keep the neck warm. You can also make the arcade section extra long and use it as a hood!
I then went even further and made two versions of this pattern. The first I did with the amazing Pearlescent Fingering Yarn by Expression Fiber Arts. The Visions of Holly Cowl and Hood – Fingering Weight requires anywhere from 550 to 1,100 yards of fingering weight yarn.
But Chandi at Expression Fiber Arts also has an incredible Buttery Bulky weight yarn that is even more vibrant in this colorway, and I had to make this pattern in that base as well. The stitch count needed to be adjusted for the added bulk, so I also released the Visions of Holly Cowl and Hood – Bulky Weight This requires at least 480 to 590 of bulky yarn, though you may want to get even more if you want a really full hood.
The great news is that it really IS Christmas in July, because Chandi has her Holly and Ivy colorway in the Pearlescent Fingering base on sale right now if you want to start getting your Christmas gifts ready! Pick up the pattern from my Ravely shop, and then head over to Expression Fiber Arts for the yarn! I really recommend going with two skeins to make the full length cowl. You won’t regret it!
I spent a week in D.C. for work a few weeks ago. I made sure to find a local yarn shop to visit one evening, which resulted in this WIP (more on this later).
The LYS I chose to visit was a cozy little loft located North of Dupot Circle, called Looped Yarn Works. If it was located back home in Kansas City, I’d love to take my crocheting and some coffee, and hang out on their couch stitching on a quiet afternoon.
I picked up this cute little lapel pin… 
…and this AMAZING yarn! It is a Heavy Fingering Weight yarn called, get this, Melted Suri. It is 65% Baby Suri Alpaca, 25% SW Merino, and 10% Silk. It is absolutely heavenly. You just want to snuggle it right up to your cheek. The hand-painted colorway is called Beach Shells.
So back to my WIP… I decide on a cowl for this super soft yarn, and went with the Arcade Stitch. I worked it up in the round, which went very well with this yarn – you cannot tell where the joins are at all with its web-like texture. I will finish it up and get a pattern ready for testing!
I’ll leave you today with this fun crocheting picture, which is in the stairwell on the way up to Looped Yarn Works’s shop. Have a great week!
I bet you can start to see the stocking in all this yarn now, can’t you?
It was a bit tricky to work the heel and come back and connect the next row with the jersey stitches.
Also, I had to relocate to a different table in the break room at lunch because someone got to the table I normally use two steps before me. Of course, it is the only grey table there and I really should have used a green table from the beginning, but I prefer the grey top for the background. Plus, that table is right next to the window and gave me good light for the pictures. But I guess really I should use one of the rest of the tables going forward since the chance of getting the one grey table every single day is pretty low.
On to the leg tomorrow!
The more I work on it, the more I love this pattern. I love the size and I love the signature stitch – the jersey stitch, which is basically two stitches, one crossed in front of the other. I love how they form columns that make the design resemble a giant knitted sock.
It was a little bit challenging learning the stitch at first, and I don’t recommend the pattern for beginners. But once you’ve got it mastered, the rows do go pretty quickly.
The candy-cane stripes on this first stocking are going to look very cute. I am cautiously optimistic that I can finish all 4 stockings by the end of the month.
Stitched In Love Crocheting 