My newest pattern is live over on Ravelry. Rocky Shores is a bandanna style cowl that sports a soft point to cover your upper chest and neck while having ample slouch under the chin. It is closed with buttons in the back which give flexibility for customizing the fit to your style. The button holes are worked into the fabric making finishing minimal and no seams to close.

This design came about after thinking about how popular the kerchief or bandana is in American life. Combining the neck gater and popular bandana gives us the ultimate flexibility and a touch more whimsy. Often times people share with me that they feel so much warmer if the back of their neck is warm and covered. Cold breezes and transiting temperature days in late Winter leave us wanting warmth, but not desiring the heavy bulk of lots of layers or unwieldy ends of scarves as we get back to work in our gardens or in our homes.

This design features sporty stripes in the broken rib textured fabric to give a little extra room for creativity. It’s the perfect excuse to use single skeins from your stash. Those extras worsted weight skeins from long ago finished sweater projects are perfect for this blank canvas… and why stop at three colors? You could certainly use more or fewer based on what you have on hand.

While this sample is knit in Juniper Moon Farms Santa Cruz, which is a heavy worsted 100% organic merino that gives the finished cowl a dense and structured feel. Thanks to the broken rib fabric, Rocky Shores would be simply wonderful in any blend of fibers. Any yarn with alpaca or silk would give you a lovely drape and an elegant feel.

And let’s not forget those buttons! The buttons are such a lovely feature – not only can you add even more personalization to your cowl – you have so much flexibility for wearing! Leave the top buttons open to ease the top edge, or leave the bottom buttons open to give a slightly more shrug like feel. Button all the way up for the ultimate cozy feel.

I can’t wait to see your versions of Rocky Shores. Should you knit up one, or perhaps many as gifts please share them with me on Ravelry as well as on Instagram @adventurebounddesigns and @adventurewithWhitney

Sometimes I have to choose.

Reading has always been part of who I am. The public library was a frequent stop in the weeks and months and years that made up my childhood. I can remember my mother chatting away with the ladies at the circulation desk, the epic card catalogs in oak drawers with brass pulls and the reddish orange industrial carpet that was as rough as burlap. The children’s section at that time was tucked back beyond the non fiction section in the grayer corner of the building. Once I started school and the new Primary school in my town was open, the school library was a respite from all day in school. Centrally located and accessible from all hallways and each of the “special” classrooms. It was the highlight of each school day to be able to leave the classroom and travel through the halls to that days Special. ”Specials” were Music, Art, P.E. And Library. Those short class periods where we were away from our desks or tables and ushered into a different world were the highlight of school for me. I loved each special, but could never get enough of the library. The introduction to using the school library was wonderful. We had our own library cards, could select our own books and were frequently read to by the head librarian. The books that were chosen were wonderful accents to what we were learning in the classroom, it was so exciting!! Like the garnish on the school day. Those “garnishes” on the lessons of the classroom taught me how to dive deeper into my passions, to seek out those topics that could serve to teach me even more.

Recently I picked up a copy of Grand Shetland Adventure by Gudrun Johnson and Mary Jane Mucklestone… I was able to get Gudrun to sign my new copy and pose for a pic at the recent Wayland Farm Fiber Market!

Diving deeper into reading about Knitting has recently helped me clean up my sleep routine. Creating discipline about sleep has been hard, and trying to clean out the noise of the surround world that ends up in our social media feeds has been frustrating. Putting my phone away, and tucking in with a book about knitting has given me so much space to think. What do I want to know more about? What do I want to be knitting? What do I want to be designing? What gives me a spark of excitement? These questions have all been front of mind as I distill where I want to be and what I want to do with my knitting. Taking a more scholarly approach to learning about regional knitting styles and identifying how those carry into the modern practice of knitting is illuminating for me on this quest for personal development.

What about you? I would love to hear what you have been reading, or what you have been knitting!

Do you ever see things, and they are just not what you want them to be? That is how the Lobstah sweater was born. June 18, 2021 an adorable baby sweater showed up on my Instagram feed and I thought… I want to wear that!! A striped sweater with raglan sleeves, three shades of stripes and a fantastic lobster duplicate stitched on the center of the sweater does not have to be for a baby!!

In June of 2021, I wasn’t anywhere near the beach and wasn’t thinking about turning that adorable design into an adult garment. So I tucked that carrot away… relegating it to the dusty corners of my mind. Now fast forward to November 2022 and I am headed to New England to work. I spend the winter trying to get outside, walking on the beaches of Maine in the cold wind with my pup and I need that Lobstah sweater. And before I know it I am charting a Lobster for a stranded knitting style and knitting a yoke.

The three color stripes had been simplified to a traditional two color nautical Breton stripe. The look is a staple in my own wardrobe. The lobster had to be the “ Just Cooked” red. No variation in shade was going to do. Once the sample yoke was complete and I was mentally married to the Americana color scheme of Red White and Blue I ordered yarn and cast on for the real thing.

With every stitch I imagined myself walking on the beach enjoying the cool breeze off the Atlantic as the morning summer sun began warming the sand. Splashing in the waves and looking for sea glass all while wearing this cozy sweater. It was the dream of the perfect vacation morning. The Lobstah Sweater embodies that whimsical quality of the seaside in New England. A little kitch and a lot of tradition served with a side of drawn butter.

The Lobstah Sweater is designed for Sport or DK weight yarn and knit at a generous 20 sts over 4 inches gauge. I used Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia, an organic merino wool yarn with 382 yards in 100g skein. It’s widely available in LYS stores across the US and Europe. The sweater begins at the neck with a short rib collar and utilizes some short rows to keep the crew neck from being too loose. The Lobster chart is worked from the tail to the claw down the yoke to the underarm. Once the yoke is complete the sleeves are divided off and it is simple stripes from there on out. Top down construction lets the knitter add length in any area to get the shape and fit that is desired. The sleeves are designed with a smaller number of decreases and at a slightly longer length so that the cuff gives the sleeve a casual feel. The body is knit straight to fit like a favorite sweat shirt.

You can find the Lobstah Sweater Pattern here and there is always a chance you will see it being worn at Long Sands Beach in York, Maine any time the breeze is blowing.

HI- ya!

Summer has flown by. I spent a good amount of time enjoying my children and parents. They are all changing so quickly. It is such a blessing to be able to carve out a big chunk of time to be with them all together.

I was looking back today, on a July post on Instagram. It was a deep dive in my project bag. I still have so many summer sweaters on the needles. All those tempting summer cottons and lines and their deceptively loose gauges made me think that I could finish them over the summer and have some really cute new tops to wear… Well in typical fashion I overestimated! I have 5 summer tops on the needles right now.

Jakers – I’m going to finish this with short sleeves I think… but i may have enough yarn for long sleeves and I may really enjoy having this done in pink in the early spring. I probably wont wear it until I get a hankering for spring so maybe I should put this one in hibernation.

Convertible – Without the turtleneck and in a really amazing cotton. I kept thinking that a cotton oversized version would be great on the beach. If I make it to a beach from Central New Mexico… I will let you know.

Outline Tee – In my defense I don’t have to have this done until next years’ Arkansas Yarn Crawl. I had the best time visiting shops and making new friends during the 2022 crawl in July. If you find yourself enjoying the natural state during July of 2023, or any time for that matter please check out this super friendly group of shops.

Summer Light – I am working on a second in a sport weight linen and cotton blend and I didn’t knit a gauge swatch. As you can imagine… it needs to be ripped out and started again because gauge is important.

Dorel – Now this top I really want to finish. It’s a great blue that I think I will be able to work into my Fall transition wardrobe… does anyone else do that? Do you come up with a group of colors of clothing you want to wear? I seem to be drawn to a particular palette of colors, this season it seems to be Golds, Rusts and a range of Indigo tones. Accent that with a little dusty pink and you have the perfect Fall tones. More on that next time.

What have you been working on this summer?

It’s almost July and with the exception of the cool weather we are having in Albuquerque right now I think most of us in the Northern Hemisphere have been melting for months. Not to mention those places that have actually been on FIRE!!

Summer is a harder season for Knitters. It is hard to stay motivated to hold onto wool when your are already warm. Did you know that wool breaths better than most fibers. It stays dry to the touch and can hold up to 30% of its weight in water before it even feels damp? Those are much better stats than my favorite cotton tee!

So with the idea in mind that I want to be wearing the least amount of clothing, while still maintaining some level of modesty I designed Summer Light .

Made with The Fiber Seed Sprout Sock, this top is light and vaguely silky. It is delightful to wear next to the skin.( I styled it here over a very light tank top and with some turquoise jeans from Vineyard Vines.)

I selected three colors shown from top to bottom Shell factory, Sidewalk Chalk and Mermaid Tale. Lindsay, the dyer and color designed over at The Fiber Seed designed all three of these colors from classics from childhood summers. They all blend together like a beautifully cool soft serve ice cream, a delicious cocktail or those brilliant summer skies. I could not be more happy with the outcome.

This top was fast to knit too – the front and back are identical. Deigned with positive ease the top naturally wants to hang loosely from the body and that drape in the fabric creates the cap sleeve look. The repeating eyelet lace patterns are easy to memorize and make it east to match up the sides for seaming.

What are you looking for this summer to round out your wardrobe? I hope you will whip up a top for yourself. I am headed off to work on a single color version now.

No joke… Monday came roaring in. I have been meaning to tell you all about my favorite crochet project to date for the better part of a week. But here we are… fresh week and fresh discussion for Crochet!!

The UBE shawl is a pattern you can easily locate on Ravelry. Using chain stitch and double crochet this is a fantastic project to work while enjoying another activity. There is very little concentration needed once the pattern is established.

I chose Queensland Perth, an affordable and fun color changing wool bend sock yarn and my trusty G crochet hook. I have two versions to share with you :

The Grey version is a yet to be released colorway ( Ask for it in your LYS starting in August). I only had one skein to work with, but I wanted to see how far one skein would go. Honest truth: Pretty darn far!

I think the difference across the top edge is only 12”. For the second version ( which was actually the 4th one I made) I had two skeins of Perth in the color Rainbow Reef. I LOVE this shade of yarn. It was captivating to watch the colors work their way across the shawl with the warm rich tones developing.

Now so you can really see how different the shawls are here are two pictures to compare.

My photographer was only partly cooperating during this shoot. Since she is 10, I will let it slide.

The Grey version is smaller, and much closer to my neck. It is a lovely size and I envision tucking it into the neck of a vest or jacket on a hike. It does not lend itself to styling many ways, but it is fantastic. The single skein price on this yarn is $13-$15 dependent on the retailer. For the money, I think it is a great project.

You can see that with the Rainbow Reef two skein version I have much more shawl to drape around my neck. The tails of the triangle feel much more secure as they are longer and the fabric drapes more toward my shoulder. I am pretty busty, so this two skein version is more my size. I will be styling this with dresses and tops all Fall… but until the weather breaks and its not within 10 degrees of 100, I will be letting both of these projects enjoy the AC in my closet!!

Have you tried your hand at Crochet? I would love to hear about your favorite patterns. Feel free to share them in the comment section! I always appreciate a good recommendation.