I have a wonderful friend who is a non-knitter. When I went to Stitches West in California, I took a side trip to Half Moon Bay to visit her. Because she's that kind of friend - considerate, smart and loads of fun - she suggested we meet at the local yarn store. While I perused all the offerings at Fengari , Jill became enamored with a skein of Malabrigo Caracol in the gorgeous Piedras colorway. She wanted a scarf made from it. That's pretty much the center of my wheelhouse so I grabbed some yarn and played with a couple of swatches. Caracol is a bulky, thick-thin yarn: I knew that an intricate pattern would be lost. I settled on a simple moss stitch. I like the way it created a highly textured fabric that showed off Caracol's great colors. Sometimes it's a lot of fun to make an easy project that goes quickly. I worked this over 17 stitches on US #15 straight needles. With so many beautiful colors to choose from, I'd love to make another!

Over time I've been releasing individual patterns from my book Reversible Scarves: Curing the Wrong Side Blues . I've re-written the " Aran " design to use Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn. I chose the yarn because it has just the right combination of great stitch definition, good drape, and a huge selection of beautiful solid colors . This pattern looks complex, but in reality is very easy. The six-row pattern repeat is simple to memorize and fun to work. Using a ribbed reverse cable technique, cables are formed on both sides of the scarf simultaneously as you go along. The pattern is now available for download on Ravelry . - Photography by Gale Zucker

Falling in love with a new-to-me yarn is one of my favorite parts of knitting. This happened to me when I tried Dragonfly Fiber's gorgeous Djinni Sock yarn recently. A blend of merino, cashmere and nylon gives it a wonderful hand, and the just-right ply makes for delightful knitting. When I was a young, I spent a lot of time in Arizona. I loved nothing more than to ride through the hills, exploring beautiful canyons and desert vistas. It was on one of these rides that I discovered a whole hillside of petroglyphs. Ancient carved rock pictures of snakes and stick figures captured my imagination. No wonder I felt compelled to make the Petroglyph Socks from Anne Podlesak's Western-inspired book, Free Spirit Knits . I modified the Petroglyph pattern by making a rounded toe. If I had it to do over again, I think I'd choose a yarn that is a true solid so the socks' stitch pattern would show up better. That said, I know I'll get a lot of use out of these socks. I like the pattern, and the yarn makes the socks heavenly to wear. I will be reviewing Free Spirit Knits and offering a brand new copy as a giveaway in the coming weeks. - Resources: Dragonfly Fibers offers many weights of yarn, in a staggering array of gorgeous colors. I encourage readers to purchase books through their local yarn shops. Please ask for Free Spirit Knits there. You can check out the patterns in the book on the book's Ravelry page . Anne Podlesak offers many great patterns on Ravelry.

Yarn Archives - AudKnits

Ply Yarn Store – Wimberley, TX

One of my favorite things when traveling is to check out the local yarn stores. This week I was [...]

By AudKnits|2018-03-30T16:52:38-04:00March 30th, 2018|Travel, Yarn, Yarn Shop|1 Comment

Caracol Scarf

I have a wonderful friend who is a non-knitter. When I went to Stitches West in California, I took a [...]

By AudKnits|2018-03-22T14:37:18-04:00March 26th, 2018|Friends, Projects, Scarf, Uncategorized, Yarn|0 Comments

Aran Gets A Touch of Cashmere

Aran Gets A Touch of Cashmere

If you follow my blog, you know I recently released the Aran Reversible Scarf as an individual pattern. I am [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:54:03-05:00August 31st, 2016|Patterns, Scarf, Yarn|0 Comments

Aran Meets Lorna

Aran Meets Lorna

Over time I've been releasing individual patterns from my book Reversible Scarves: Curing the Wrong Side Blues. I've re-written the [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:54:08-05:00August 15th, 2016|Patterns, Yarn|0 Comments

Rios Linen – Carrying the Yarn

Rios Linen – Carrying the Yarn

Even after making it a bunch of times, I'm still obsessed with the linen stitch scarf pattern I included in my [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:54:24-05:00June 7th, 2016|Book, Patterns, Yarn|2 Comments

Petroglyph Socks

Falling in love with a new-to-me yarn is one of my favorite parts of knitting. This happened to me when [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T19:54:58-05:00March 30th, 2016|Book Review, Projects, Reviews, Socks, Yarn|1 Comment

Another Pair of Lockhart

I wish I were better at photographing red. If I was, you'd be seeing the true gorgeous ruby color of [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T20:00:11-05:00November 4th, 2014|Gloves & Mittens, Projects, Yarn|0 Comments

Yarn Discovery Tour and Travelling Stitches

I adore the North Coast Knitting Guild in Northeast Ohio. It's a very active group, with all kinds of activities [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T20:00:28-05:00September 6th, 2014|Events, Yarn, Yarn Shop|0 Comments

Frog Tree Feather and Fan

Here's a sample I made from Frog Tree's Pediboo Worsted. I was excited to get to try this yarn, since [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T20:01:40-05:00February 23rd, 2014|Book, Patterns, Scarf, Yarn|0 Comments

Frog Tree Cables and Knots

I love getting a chance to work with new-to-me yarns. I had the pleasure of making two sample scarves from my [...]

By AudKnits|2018-01-19T20:02:21-05:00October 25th, 2013|Book, Patterns, Projects, Scarf, Yarn|2 Comments