Amanda, my friend from Lorna's Laces, wrote to me a few months back and asked if I would be interested in creating a pattern for their new yarn, Honor, an alpaca/silk blend that is available in all their pretty colorways. I really love working with those fibers, and I love Lorna's Laces yarns in general, so I was eager to work with their newest offering. Honor is just lovely - it's light and drapes beautifully, is soft as can be with a slight alpaca halo, and has a very pleasing "squish" factor. 

Inspired by the richly textured rock and low-water gardens here in Albuquerque (I got the idea for the shaping while I was out in my neighborhood walking Charlie), Xeriscape is a shaped, scalloped scarf knit in a drapey and luxurious hand-dyed yarn. Worked from side to side and knit in garter stitch, Xeriscape’s scallops are formed with increases and decreases along one edge. The long, narrow, delicately shaped scarf is easy to wrap, tie, and wear in a variety of ways.

Xeriscape is perfect for beginners who are ready to work on shaping through increases and decreases, and still has the thoughtful details needed to make it a breezy, meditative knit for more experienced knitters. The pattern is a 4-page PDF file (1 cover page, 3 pattern pages), which includes color photographs, detailed construction notes, a schematic, and a table with stitch counts so that you can easily keep track of where you are in the pattern.

Big thanks go to the fabulously speedy and helpful test knitters: StevenA, Julie Frick, and Stephen West. Huge, grateful hugs to Marnie MacLean, who generously provided a detailed pattern review, and Laura Chau for her ultra-helpful and eagle-eyed tech editing.

So, Xeriscape! The pattern is available for purchase for $5.00 through the "buy now" button below. Here's a little more information for you!

materials needed:

Yarn:
235 yards / 215 meters DK-weight (8-ply) yarn

Yarn Shown:
1 skein Lorna’s Laces Honor; 275 yds / 251 m per 3.5 oz / 100 g skein; 70% baby alpaca, 30% silk; shown in the Patina colorway (variegated scarf was knit in the Turtle Rodeo colorway)

Needles:
US 6 / 4 mm needle (circular or straight)
Adjust needle size if necessary in order to obtain correct gauge.

Notions:
tapestry needle for weaving in ends

gauge:

22 sts and 38 rows = 4” / 10 cm in stockinette stitch using US 6 / 4 mm needles.

finished size:

66” / 168 cm from point to point along straight edge of shawl, and 7” / 17.75 cm wide at widest scallop point

skills needed:

cast on, knit, kfb increase, k2tog decrease, slip stiches, bind off

purchase ($5.00):

notes about this pattern purchase:

You are purchasing a pattern in pdf file format, and will be able to download your pattern via a link that will be emailed to you once your payment is completed. All payments are processed by PayPal and you can use either your PayPal account or a credit card to pay. The pattern is delivered by Ravelry but you don't need a Ravelry account in order to purchase. This pattern may be used to make items for personal use, for gifts, or for charitable donations. This pattern may not be used to make items for sale. You may print this pattern for your own personal use only. You many not distribute this pattern in any hardcopy or electronic format, for free or for resale.

If you have any problems with your purchase or any questions about making this pattern please email me and I'll be happy to help you!

Promenade is a Regency-era inspired pullover with a very scooped neck on a slim, empire-waist bodice, puffy little cap sleeves, an a-line bottom, and a separately worked linen stitch tie detail. I've wanted to knit this garment for myself for so long - it's a simple, clean design, but has so many little style elements that I love and seek out in my clothing (seriously - give me an empire waist and cap sleeves and I'm a happy woman).

When my design was accepted, I happily threw myself into a period of research. Gotta love any type of research that allows me to watch Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and the BBC Pride and Prejudice over and over (and, yes, over) again! I also dove deep into some serious eye-candy paintings from that era:

Sigh. So beautiful, right? I wanted my pattern to be true to the promenade dresses so popular during the Regency era, but without any costumey elements - it had to be wearable today! Luckily, so many style elements we see in those beautiful dresses from the era are nearly universally flattering. To me, a more modern look came through some minor changes, the most important being raising of the neckline (the first version of the bodice that I knit, which was more true to a "period" neckline, was rather saucy by today's standards! I am pretty sure that it would be hard to find modern undergarments that would have worked with a neck that was so very, very scooped). Kate Gilbert (who is so inspiring to work with) and I also both felt strongly that avoiding a white, cream, or pastel color would give the design a more contemporary feel. As you can see from the inspiration paintings above, there were plenty of beautiful rich colors worn by the women during the Regency period.

The yarn I worked with, Madelinetosh Pashmina, is delightful. A handpainted merino/cashmere/silk blend, it is luxurious to be sure... frankly, it's dreamy. It drapes beautifully and still has that great merino squishiness and memory. And of course, since we're talking about Madelinetosh here, the colors are just stunning!

I had so much fun playing with the details of this sweater, and it has been fun to see it added to faves and queues and even see some projects start up on Ravelry! There are many more construction details and notes on Promenade's Ravelry pattern page.

 All the photos in this post are copyrighted by the fabulous Jamie Dixon... ok, yes, I'm biased because she is my friend, but she really is such a fabulous photographer. Jamie shot the entire "WWMHW" story of the Fall 2010 Twist Collective... yup, as you've no doubt seen already (if you are a Yarn Person), I got to model a whole story, full of gorgeous sweaters and accessories from some of my favorite designers (seriously), called "What Would Mary-Heather Wear?" Talk about exciting - and flattering, to have been included in such a fun way. More about that day up in the mountains (falling ticks and all!) to come in a few days. In the meantime, here is an outtake from the shoot:

The hat is the lovely Community Garden, by Melissa LaBarre. With a cute hat like that, and my sweet happy dog by my side, no wonder I have a great big grin on my face! Such a fun day!

• Running. I'm keeping it up! :) I actually didn't run this week (bad, I know) because it was over 100 miserable degrees here someday. And yes, it's a dry heat... but so is an oven. I don't run in an oven. It's cooling off now (tomorrow is forecast to be a brisk 84 degrees... brrrr!) so I'll be BACK. aw yeah.
• Also tomorrow: Convergence! That's the big conference of the Handweaver's Guild of America. Over a week of classes and exhibits and a large vendors' hall. This year it's being held right here in Albuquerque! I'll be hosting a Ravelry meetup in the vendors' hall from 12 - 1 pm. I'm really excited to look around at the booths and any exhibits I can see, also - I recently got a Schacht Cricket Loom and seeing some cool weaving sounds great to me!
• PATTERNS. OK. So - this blog (not to mention my Ravelry and Flickr pages) have been pretty light on the knitting so far this year. Part of that is because I didn't really knit, spin, or craft at all at the beginning of the year - when my mom was sick I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. But I have been working behind the scenes for the past few months, and I have some goodies coming up. :)

• Xeriscape! A long, shapely, scalloped scarf made in the new Lorna's Laces yarn, Honor. It's a 70/30 alpaca/silk blend and it is dreamy! I finished it at TNNA last month, and it got passed around one night in the Hyatt lounge during "circle time." (The Hyatt lounge is a prime hang-out spot... sofas and lots of room for crafting and talking and a bar right across the way. Aw, I love TNNA.) It was really cool to see the different ways that everyone wrapped it and styled it. When it's no longer 50 kabillion degrees here in Albuquerque, I imagine I'll wear Xeriscape a lot! More to come about the design process and inspiration, as well as more details about the yarn, will come as I am working on...
• Xeriscape #2: the variegated version! I want to have this ready for the pattern photos, too. I think it will be a good showcase for variegated yarns because of the garter stitch and shaping in every row. I'm starting the variegated version in a new colorway for Lorna's Laces - Turtle Rodeo. The colors are SO New Mexico! Love 'em.

• I'll be working on getting the Xeriscape pattern ready and published within the next couplefewweeks. I have another secret future project I'm finishing first, but
• Finally, I have some really exciting news just around the corner... I have a pattern in the upcoming Fall issue of Twist Collective! I am just so excited about this, I can't even tell you. :) The patterns from Twist are being added to Ravelry now (no photos until the big reveal when the issue goes live!) but just seeing my name among all the amazing designers that are in the fall issue is blowing my mind. What an honor!

YAY!