Inner Peace

I think there's only one thing I don't like about my work, and it's that it can be lonely at times... I don't have any colleagues who live nearby that I can talk with about work...

So when my favorite dyers offer to work on a collaboration, I must confess I have butterflies in my stomach with happiness, cause it means we'll get to work together for a long time, and it's a promise of a successful pairing.

With Sundara Yarn, this is especially true. I have yet to find a color of hers that I don't think is inspiring.  In a certain way, I think our styles are very similar, so her yarn and my designs go very well together.  For this latest collaboration, we chose the color, we discussed all the little design details, and we even chose photographs together.  It was indeed, quite a change from the solitary work.

For this design, I used her Fingering Silky Merino base, in the colorway "Snow Clouds", the most delicate pearly gray.

(Actually, this was the last skein of yarn I could bring into the country using the mail.  From now on, no parcels are allowed into Argentina.  They will all be stopped at customs and probably held there without notice... That is not making my job any easier!)

This single skein fingering project will enlighten your day and lift your spirits!
This shawl is worked from side-to-side using a mesmerizing yarn that subtly reflects light as it moves. As usual, the design was produced from that light deep down inside that drives all of our emotions. It came at a time of inner reflection and thus, I’ve named it Inner Peace.
Peace is an energy that comes from within, it is being in control of your inner monster when it makes you feel greedy, selfish, angry or spiteful. It is taking a step back and doing what you can do to make YOURSELF better and no longer expecting others to make it happen for you.
Like our knitting, peace is something we have to work at, to fashion with all our might. It is a magic you have to make time for every day and something that will make your world all the more easy to bear.
Work on this shawl and imagine your personal inner peace, what does it look like to you and what can you do today to change our world for the better.
Peace starts with you, own it!

You can find more information on the pattern here.

Working with Sundara is a big pleasure, and I can say that the projects we've worked together are among the happiest ones I've published.  Here you can see some more of our team work:

October 2012: Autumn Blush

March 2013: Imagine When

September 2013: Make a Wish

Hope this inspires you...

Happy Easter!
~Joji

Worsted weight Boxy

A few weeks ago, I started experimenting with Malabrigo Rios, because I wanted to make a worsted weight version of one of my most popular patterns: Boxy.

Lots of people liked this pattern, but many knitters told me that they were afraid of that much knitting...  So after a couple of years after I released the original version, I decided it was time to give it a go at the modified one.

What I remembered very well about Boxy was that it was crucial for the yarn to drape, otherwise it's just a big sweater, and not as flattering...  I needed a yarn that could be blocked and stretched to a very loose gauge, and possibly, that wouldn't shrink back to it's original state afterwards.

Rios is a 100% Superwash merino yarn with a very soft twist, and I thought it would be perfect for it.  It's available in a great variety of colors, it's quite inexpensive, and most importantly: I can buy it locally, which is very unusual.

The colorway I chose is called "Niebla", which means fog.  It's a soft mix of grays, beige, yellow and even a tiny bit of purple, which create a very neutral looking hue, but more complex than most neutral toned yarns.

 I made the whole prototype in less than a week.  It was so much fun to make, as my Mom and I were working the back and front at the same time (1 piece each), and we were racing each other.  It really is a very quick project, and the testers also were done in a very short time.

So gladly, the pattern was published very soon, so this can be your next transition weather staple (it is for me! only I am transitioning into winter)...

You can find it on Ravelry now!  And if you have already purchased the original one through Rav, you can get this new one 50% off (no coupon code needed, you just put it in the cart and the discount will be automatic).

Hope you like some instant gratification knitting for a change ;)

~Joji