Venture into Brioche with The Wild Wild West Mini Cowl!

Last fall I was asked to design a pattern for one of my favorite local indie dyers, The Dyeing Arts. They have absolutely beautiful yarns and their colorways for both yarn and fiber are astounding! Some of my favorites have names like Sugar Skull, Electric Slide, Divinity and Diamond. The Dyeing Arts is based out of Omaha, NE and I look forward to visiting their booth every September at the North Country Fiber Fair so if you see their booth at an event, be sure to stop by and pet all the pretties.

The Wild Wild West Mini Cowl is going to be the featured pattern in and upcoming month of The Dyeing Arts' Luxury Yarn and Swag Box. If you are interested in a kit, contact Tara through their website or sign up for the Subscription, I promise that you won't be disappointed because everything they have is amazing!

Save 20% this week only by using code: wwwmini at checkout

The Wild Wild West Mini Cowl

Squishy brioche stockinet fabric knit-up in The Dyeing Art’s beautiful Smashing base was the starting point for this textural cowl. The subtle pinstripes on the RS reminded me of some old-timey photos of female gunslingers from the 1800’s and I just knew that this cowl had to have bandana shaping and a lacey finish. The WS of brioche stockinet creates an amazingly textured fabric that helps the variegated yarn shine with pops of color sprinkled throughout the whole piece. So give the top of the cowl a little twist when you wear it and let your W(ild) S(ide) show.

This fun beginner brioche knit is knit in-the-round first and then switches to being knit flat. This way you get a lovely drapey cowl that makes the most of some beautiful 50g skeins of fingering weight yarn.

Recommended Yarn:
1 - 50g Skein each of Smashing by The Dyeing Arts in (MC) Plumage And (CC) Peacock - 60% Merino Wool, 20% Yak, 20% Silk - 190 yds (91 m) / 50 g

Needles & Notions:
- US Size 2 (2.75 mm) 16” (40 cm) Circulars
- Stitch Markers, Tapestry Needle

Size:
Circumference
23” (58 cm)
Length
11” (28 cm)

Gauge:
24 sts x 32 rows /
4” (10 cm)
in Brioche Stockinet

 Have a great week of crafting everyone! Remember that Saturday, June 18th is World Wide Knit In Public Day and we need to represent in whatever way is the most fun for you. I hope that you're joining us in the WWKIPD Knit-A-Long, but if not I hope that you go out and knit somewhere fun with people you love.

Shaina  ^_^

All Photography by DoeDeer Photography

Adjustments

Hey guys!

This is just a quick little update to let you know that I'm going to be changing things up a bit around here. With the amount of classes that I'm taking on teaching this summer I'm going to be slowing down pattern releases a bit. Lately I've been trying to have 1 new pattern each week, but as you can tell I've been missing the mark on that. I would rather provide you with solid patterns and great support than with mediocre everything.

I'm going to be getting back to posting every Wednesday  (at least) with the e-mails going out each Wednesday at 6 PM, but I won't have a new pattern each week. I'm going to shoot for every other week, but sometimes it might be every 3rd week. Again, this is so that I'm providing you with quality material and not just wasting your time (and stressing myself out). I really appreciate all the support that everyone has been giving me with my patterns and classes and I want to continue to provide you with worthwhile purchases.

I hope that you guys understand and I really hope to see you and/or talk with you at a class, at knit night or online soon!

Thanks so much for being amazing!
Shaina Scott  ^_^

Announcing a Mystery-Knit-A-Long for WWKIPD 2016!!

Mark your calendars: June 18, 2016 is World Wide Knit In Public Day!!

Since 2005, each year in June knitters around the world gather together in public venues to share our craft with each other and with the non-knitting world. This volunteer-led event is called World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIPD) and has been steadily growing to become what is now the largest knitter-run event in the world. It's always a super-fun event and you're sure to make some new friends throughout the day. So join along whether or not you live nearby and we can all become better knitting friends!

From WWKIPDay.com:

 "World Wide Knit in Public Day was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes. It began as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other’s company. Knitting is such a solitary act that it’s easy to knit alone somewhere and sink into your work without thinking about all the other knitters out there. Neighbors could spend all their lives never knowing that the other knits.  This a specific day to get out of your house and go to a local event (with your knitting in tow) just for you and people like you.  Who knows you might even bump into your neighbor! Consider this a spark, to ignite a fire; getting all of the closeted knitters out into fresh air."

"Each local event is put together by a volunteer or a group of volunteers. They each organize an event because they want to, not because they have to. They bring their own fresh ideas into planning where the event should be held, and what people would like to do."

This year I've had the pleasure of organizing our local WWKIPD events and as part of the festivities (and to add my own little twist) we're going to be doing a Mystery-Knit-A-Long Pattern Scavenger Hunt! I've priced this KAL super low (only $1) to try to keep it accessible to as many knitters as possible so please share the info with as many friends/knitters as you can so we have a huge group knitting together both online and in public.
 
If you're the picture-taking type, please post pics of your knitting on the various social media boards where clues can be found and on Ravelry. I'd love to see everyone's yarn ideas as you prepare for the MKAL and it's always fun to see everyone's projects grow throughout the day! If you tag me @YumiYarns and use the hashtag: #WWKIPD2016MKAL on your posts, I'll try to re-post as many as I can. ^_^

Project Details:
The finished project is a long skinny crescent-shaped mini-shawl with a slight point in the center (approx 10" x 40"). It incorporates lots of squishy garter stitch alternating with layers of textural stitches and some simple lace. This combination gives you enough of a challenge to keep your interest while also giving you time to just knit while you talk with your friends during your WWKIPD event.

 There are 6 pieces to this MKAL, the first and last ones come with your initial info sheet and the rest are the "hidden" pieces that you can collect throughout the day. These "hidden" pieces are special because they are all completely interchangeable. That way if you only find 2 of the 4 "hidden" pieces, you can still knit a completed shawl with the 2 pattern pieces that you did collect. (Or, you can knit the whole thing with just the beginning/ending piece. But where's the adventure in that?) Another bonus to having interchangeable layers is that you can make this shawl as big as you want. The pattern is written as a mini-shawl, but you can just keep adding in layers until it's the perfect size. (Just be sure to leave enough yarn for your bind-off!)

Each "hidden" pattern piece was designed to represent the location that it can be found in during the Sioux Falls Shop Hop. There are 2 textural patterns and 2 lacy patterns, 1 pattern incorporates optional beads and 1 incorporates optional metallic thread. If you are local, please support these amazing businesses that have been so supportive of our event by buying your supplies/treats from them.

Supplies:
- 380 yds (356 m) of fingering weight yarn (tonal or slightly variegated works best)
- US size 2 (2.75 mm) Circular Knitting Needles at least 32" (ideally 40") long
- Tapestry Needle

Optional Supplies:
(If you are local, you can purchase these during our shop hop and support the participating stores.)
- 6/0 Beads
- Metalic Thread

Some things to keep in mind:
 - The local shops will only have the pattern pieces available during their individual business hours on 6/18/16, so check their sites (linked below) for times and plan accordingly if you won't be with the main group.
- The online pattern pieces will only be available online until 11:59 PM (CST) on 6/18/16, so visit the links below at the times listed to get your pieces before they're gone.
- If you still miss some of the pieces and/or want the entire pattern in my usual PDF format, don't worry. I will be releasing the full pattern on 6/29/16. Those who have purchased the Info Sheet for the MKAL ($1) will get a free digital copy of the full pattern at that time.
- Regular price for this pattern will be $4.99, so sign-up now to get the discount and join in on the fun!

There are 2 ways that you can play along:

1.) Athena Fibers Knits in Public (For locals): Purchase your Info Sheet ($1) at Athena Fibers and join our knitting group in a shop hop around Sioux Falls, SD as we visit (and support) our favorite local cafes and crafting shops. The schedule for the main group is listed below, but if you can't attend along with the group don't worry. All the participating retailers have agreed to continue passing out the pattern pieces for the entirety of the the day on June 18, 2016. When you approach the counter, just show them your knitting and let them know that you are there for WWKIPDay. (Please keep in mind that some businesses may have shorter hours so plan your stops accordingly.)

Local Event Schedule:

7-10 AM – Queen City Bakery
10-11 AM – The Bead Co.
11 AM -12 PM – Barbra’s Needlepoint
12-2 PM – Josiah’s Cafe & Coffee Shop
2-5 PM – Athena Fibers

2.) Yumi Yarns' WWKIPD Mystery Knit-A-Long (For everyone else): Purchase your Info Sheet ($1) here (buy now) or on Ravelry then get your internet skills ready! Throughout the day on June 18, 2016 I will be posting the various pattern pieces across the internet on different platforms. Times listed are estimates, the pattern pieces will be up within 30 min of the listed time. All times are Central Standard Time Zone.

 Online Event Schedule:

7 AM (CST): Facebook

9 AM (CST): Twitter

1 PM (CST): Instagram

7 PM (CST): The YumiYarns Blog

I'm so excited to see the yarns that you all pick out for the MKAL and I'm even more excited to be knitting with all of you during the event on June 18, 2016!

Have a great week of crafting!

Shaina ^_^
 

MJ Yarns Simple Sock in Copacabana