Today’s Pattern Day is focused on the DROPS patterns that came out a while ago. I wanted to post a bunch of the ones I liked once the whole series was up, and then I forgot. So here’s a list that is updated with some of the blogosphere’s current FOs and WIPs. You see, I planned that whole being late thing, it was intentional.

If you are knitting or have already knit a pattern that I’m talking about, leave me a comment and I’ll update my post with a link to your version. If you’ve written up a pattern and you want me to link to it, send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll post it! It makes the list longer and my job easier.

• I think this Blouse with short sleeves knitted in 2 directions with 2 threads is my favourite.
• For some reason, I really like these Tights. They’re illin’. I’d never ever knit them, though. OMG.
• Jacket with A-shape and ¾-long or long sleeves. Example here, here, here, and one in progress here. Obviously this is one of the more popular patterns.
• I love how Drops combines their neutral yarns to create not only interesting textural contrasts, but also automatic shaping. This Jersey with stripes and wide neck with tie is nice and classy. I like the hourglass shape and the belled sleeves.
• This Shrug knitted in lace pattern is flowy and airy and frilly and I like it.
• Here’s a free interpretation of every single Phildar sweater that’s been released in the past two years. Enjoy Phildar’s Drops’s Short-sleeved top with wide rib edges and raglan sleeve.
• Everyone loves the whole ribbing around the midriff thing now. Case in point: Jacket with rib.
• I’m not sure I’d knit this Short-sleeved top with raglan sleeve, but I like the texture and the diagonal line shaping the sides.
• It wouldn’t be garnstudio if they didn’t have at least one fair isle jacket with a Norwegian motif and matching hat and mittens. This Jacket with cape is that to a T.

Kent is swatching for a sweater. He’s got all sorts of beautiful plans and even some charts of his ideas.

Won’t you admire them with me?

* SWOON *

I spent a lot of time procrastinating on this jacket; once I got to the part where you have to seam the shoulders together, I started something else and was absorbed into the new project. Now it’s blocked, though, and I’m going to seam this together either tonight (barring additional TA preparations) or on Wednesday afternoon (hopefully). Then I can pick up for the collar and finish within the week (depending on the amount of yarn I have left over).

I’ve not been knitting as much since I started school again, and my blogging has been intermittent because of a) vacations, b) laptop disasters, and c) alternate laptops being used to store knitting photos to which I no longer have access but will eventually recover and blog about. My apologies for the blog fade, but don’t worry! I’m back now and I’ll try to keep posting on my progress.

I’m terrible. Don’t even look at me. Let’s just get on with the patterns and I will crawl into the corner where I flagellated last time for being late. This week, I’m featuring some older patterns I didn’t get a chance to talk about the last few months.

If you are knitting or have already knit a pattern that I’m talking about, leave me a comment and I’ll update my post with a link to your version. If you’ve written up a pattern and you want me to link to it, send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll post it! It makes the list longer and my job easier.

• The Leaf Tee is quite pretty, and the front panel reminds me of Rusted Root. Examples here, here, here, here, and here.
• Stargazer is from the July issue of MagKnits.
• Twee are hyper-girly cabled fingerless gloves.
• Here are some cute mushroom wrist warmers from Hello Yarn.
• Sammy J. sweater from Formula 51.
• Tomato is from No Sheep for You and it’s free via Knitting Daily. I’m not too into it, but I thought some of you folks might like a look at it if you haven’t seen it already.
• Two patterns, one blog. Twisted Maiden fingerless gloves and a monster bag.
• Free patterns from Naughty Needles. This devil hat is nice.
• A Quickie (“5-hour”) Baby Sweater (example here).
• Hilarious footstep outline cloth (what do you call that? OMG, I am an idiot, it is called a footprint. Wow, that was actually surprisingly dumb. Example here.)
• This Saucy! sock pattern is similar to Knitty’s Monkey.

I don’t know about you folks, but up here in Canada it’s gettin’ mighty cool. Not cold yet, but fall is certainly making its presence known. Which is the perfect time, in my opinion, to begin thinking about mittens. So here are a few mitten photos I found on Flickr. What’s your favourite mitten pattern?

And because I couldn’t resist…

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I’d love a bag like the one on the left.

Check out this adorable doggie outfit!

How fitting that the first time I forgot about Saturday, Pattern Day would be lucky number 13. (EDIT, later: and then of course I realize later that this is actually #12.) This past week has been full of craziness, but now that I’m settled into my new place and have all my classes chosen and my office dealt with (I have an office!) I’ll have a little time to spend on knitting and blogging about knitting. I have quite a bit finished on my sweater and I can post those photos on Monday. I’m also working on a swatch for Colchique! Now down to business.

If you are knitting or have already knit a pattern that I’m talking about, leave me a comment and I’ll update my post with a link to your version. If you’ve written up a pattern and you want me to link to it, send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll post it! It makes the list longer and my job easier.

• First, I want to talk about the new Knitty that’s come out; it’s the most promising issue I’ve seen in a long time! I love nearly everything. The phrase Wood-ins reminds me of the whole “hop-ons” problem in arrested development. (If your car is also a house, you’re gonna get some live-ins.)
• I wouldn’t knit it, but I think Q has an ingenious construction and quite cleverly deals with calf increases.
• I want to link to Flower Power because the photo of the kid modelling it is thigh-slappingly hilarious. He just looks so grumpy and adorable! The hat is really nice, too.
• Patch Pocket is a guy’s sweater, and I can’t make up my mind about it. It looks a little hipster-y, but it also looks a little my-gramma-knit-this-for-me-y. Which are both not too great as concepts. But I still like it for some reason. Maybe because the model looks like Peter Petrelli from Heroes.
• Henry is a scarf I would picture Sherlock Holmes wearing. I love it for a girl or a boy. It’s just so classy and perfect, I love it.
• I like the Percy bag, and I like that there’s some internal structure to give it shape. I’m not sure if I could stand all that finishing, though.
• Roam looks like a perfect studying hoodie (or bunny-hug, if you’re Albertan). I love nice warm sweaters with hoods for when I’m reading in my room with my legs under the blankets, because then I’m entirely swaddled in warmth. I really want to knit this.
• Urchin is a lovely beret pattern, even if I am getting tired of berets. An example is already here.
• Cherie Amour is gorgeous, and it looks nice and quick with bulky yarn. I’m thinking about knitting this one, too. How warm do you think it’d be? Given that it’s lace, I’d do this in cotton and use it as a cover up in the spring.
• Blossom is a MagKnits shawl that looks Japanese inspired. There’s a version being begun here. This pattern’s name is a bit annoying because there’s a baby sweater from MagKnits that’s also called Blossom, so searching “magknits blossom” gives me all sorts of unnecessary links.
• Lucy Brown is another MagKnits pattern and it’s so damn sexy. Sexy librarian, even. Oh baby.
• This Nordstrom Hobo Bag is a very nice emulation.
• This Swiss Cheese Scarf makes me want to knit it.
• Here are some beautiful Branched Fern Socks. Examples here and here.

Oh my goodness! I’ve been away from the Internet too long. I forgot it was Saturday, Pattern Day. Here it is, if a bit late. Side note: head on over to Å Strikke and congratulate Kate on becoming Doctor Kate! Booyah!

If you are knitting or have already knit a pattern that I’m talking about, leave me a comment and I’ll update my post with a link to your version. If you’ve written up a pattern and you want me to link to it, send me an email or leave me a comment and I’ll post it! It makes the list longer and my job easier.

• This Twiggy Bobble Hat doesn’t look like much, but there’s a really nice version here that is changing my mind.
• This Minttumaari shawl pattern is in Finnish, but there are charts here that might be useful.
• I’m not big on tams, but I figured one of you folks would probably love this Secret Garden Tam pattern.
• These Kaylee socks are great, but I have to continue the pattern of interspersing opposing clauses with the word “but.” Example here.
• Eustice is a sweater that looks a little bunchy, but I think it has potential.
• Avita is an adorable baby camisole.
• The Greenery Hat is a basic cabled hat.
• Monk is another cabled hat which I like even better.
• Maude Louise is a cardigan pattern.
• Bloody Mary socks can be gotten here (PDF).
• KnitBits #203 features modifications to their patterns to transform them into bags. While I can’t imagine knitting a whole sweater and then seaming it up to make a bag (what a waste!), it’s nice as inspiration. Still, this should all be done with an understanding of how the fabric will drape and whether the original design will work properly or whether it will be a crashing failure.

I’m moving to Toronto in a few days, but The Beau will be remaining in Kingston. Seeing as I’ll be carrying on a long-distance relationship for the next year, I’ve got lots of travel time to kill in the car (three hours to Kingston, three hours back, every month or so). Because I can’t knit while driving, I’ve decided to learn a language by buying tapes and playing them in the car. I’m obsessed with Japan so I’m thinking of learning Japanese, but I’ve recently been leaning towards Finnish as well. I tend to like learning the really weird languages (Esperanto, Klingon) so Finnish would be a weird language that I could learn and actually get some use from learning it.

From reading Finnish knitting blogs, I’ve learned some words like “lanka” (thread/yarn), “pieni” (little), and “neulo” (knitting). While this isn’t the greatest start, I have also done a few flash card sessions with parts of the body and such. I’ve still yet to decide if I will devote my trips to Japanese or Finnish, but Finnish has a more familiar alphabet and it would certainly aid me in piecing together posts like this. You see, I went crazy for the swatch underneath the “Pieni lankakauppa” book (which I now know means “little yarn shop,” the Finnish title for The Friday Night Knitting Club). While I could have easily read it if I knew how to speak Finnish, I had to instead resort to searching through other posts for similar pictures and hope there was an obvious link. Fortunately, there was a previous post called Pewter coat puikoilla**, with a link to a mysterious magazine called Interweave knits talvi 2006 lehdestä. Very Mysterious. Does anyone know what “Interweave knits” means in English?

All joking aside, it turns out that I have that magazine! So I therefore have the stitch pattern. While I’m not exactly inspired by the project itself, I might like to use the stitch pattern in a sweater sometime. A very basic fitted turtleneck would be nice. What do y’all think?

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