New Pattern: Hop Brook

Introducing Hop Brook, a scarf/shawlette named after a lovely brook in my hometown. With its relaxing garter stitch and not-too-complicated lace, Hop Brook is the perfect end-of-summer knitting project. It's now available in my Ravelry, Craftsy, and Etsy shops, and at Loveknitting as well.

Pattern: Hop Brook, by Bonnie Sennott

Yarn: Elsa Wool Cormo woolen-spun fingering in light grey

Hop Brook's elegant, tapered crescent shape results from gradually spaced increases and decreases in the garter stitch portion of the scarf. Like my Streusel scarf, it is worked from one end to the other, with no grafting or short rows. The pattern includes instructions for making it longer or shorter, and the stitch patterns are provided both in charts and in row-by-row written form.

This was my first time knitting with Elsa Wool Cormo and it certainly won't be my last. This beautiful undyed yarn comes from purebred Cormo sheep in Colorado and Montana. It is a good, honest yarn that's a pleasure to have on the needles. Its softness makes it ideal for anything worn against the skin.

Hop Brook is the fourth pattern in my 2015 All You Need Is One collection of designs that require just one skein of yarn. When you purchase the collection (available only on Ravelry), the PDF is automatically updated in your Ravelry library each time a new pattern is released. One more pattern will be added to the collection this fall; at $16 for five patterns, it's a great deal!

In conjunction with the second annual Neckwear KAL, I'm offering a discount on Hop Brook through September 10, only on Ravelry. Enter the coupon code NECKWEARKAL at checkout to get 25% off.

I hope you'll join us for the KAL! Last year's was lots of fun, so we're doing it again. The Blue Peninsula Neckwear KAL starts Thursday, September 10 and ends Thursday, October 15. Whether you're knitting something special for yourself or gearing up for holiday gift giving, it's going to be a fun, low-pressure KAL with some nice prizes (including a skein of Elsa Wool Cormo!).

The scarf takes its name from a brook in Amherst, Massachusetts. On a very hot Sunday earlier this month, I took a break from creating the pattern's charts to go for a walk on the local bike trail. When I passed a little sign for Hop Brook, I stopped and realized I'd never gone down that particular path before. So I did, and within five minutes came upon this beautiful view:

And just like that, I had found the name for my scarf! Goes to show, it's good to take breaks when you've been working a lot (especially on Sundays!) and to head down unfamiliar paths once in a while.

 As always, thanks go to my sister Jenny for her expert tech editing. Couldn't do it without her! 

Thank you very much for reading.