New Year, New Cowl, and a Flash Sale

On this first day of the New Year, I'm pleased to share my first pattern for 2016, a cowl called Erste (which means "first" in German). 

Pattern: Erste, by Bonnie Sennott

Yarn: Plucky Knitter Traveler Sport

To celebrate its release, I'm having a flash sale: Erste and all individual Blue Peninsula patterns in my Ravelry store are 20% off, now through midnight EST Sunday, January 3. No coupon code required!

Erste is a seamless cowl that pairs columns of cables with a wide lace pattern that looks like cables—but isn't. It's knit in the round on a circular needle, with no seaming or grafting required.

For a warm and luxurious cowl, I recommend a solid color yarn with great stitch definition. For the sample, I used Plucky Knitter Traveler Sport (a blend of merino, silk, and yak)—the same yarn I used for my Fee-bee Mitts. Ever since I designed those mitts, I've wanted to use Traveler Sport again. It comes in such rich, sophisticated colors and feels so good against your skin.

Erste would be a nice project for the second annual Blue Peninsula Selfish Knitting KAL (starts today). Hope to see you in the KAL! It continues through February 7, and you can cast on anytime.

Many thanks to my sister Jenny for editing the pattern (thanks for catching that I left a cable needle off the list of supplies, Jen!). 

Thank you very much for reading, and best wishes for a very happy 2016.

Selfish Knitting KAL Starts Friday

This Friday—New Year's Day—the second annual Blue Peninsula Selfish Knitting KAL begins. I hope you'll join us—it's a chance to slow down after the holiday bustle and knit something special for yourself. 

We have some lovely prizes this time: a skein of Elemental Affects Cormo Fingering (at 550 yards, it's just right for Hop Brook or another fingering weight project); 2) a pretty set of Lavender Hill Knits stitch markers; and 3) a Ravelry "sheep mistake" pouch. (What's the mistake? The first "l" is missing from Romeldale.)

The KAL runs from January 1 through Sunday, February 7. Any of my designs are eligible, and you can make more than one if you're feeling ambitious.

I'll also be releasing a new cowl pattern Friday. Since it will be my first pattern of 2016, and it's being published on the first day of the New Year, I'm calling it Erste (which means "first" in German).

More about the cowl soon ... but if you're wondering whether you've got suitable yarn in your stash, here are the details: you'll need 300 yards of sportweight yarn and a US5 24-inch circular (or size needed to produce a gauge of 5.5 stitches per inch in stockinette). I used Plucky Knitter Traveler Sport—a luxurious blend of merino, silk, and yak that begs to be worn around the neck.

Last but not least, the Yarn + Pattern Giveaway for projects posted in the Blue Peninsula FO thread ends Thursday, December 31. Don't forget to post your FOs to be in the running for a free pattern and a skein of yarn (your choice) from End of the Row Yarns.

I'd better get back to editing cowl photos now. Hope you have a fun and safe New Year's Eve!

Save the Date: January KAL

After all the gift knitting's done, wouldn't it be nice to make something lovely—just for you—at a relaxed pace, among friends? A pretty scarf or shawl, a warm and cozy sweater, maybe a new hat or pair of socks?

That's the idea behind the second annual Blue Peninsula Selfish Knitting KAL. It starts January 1 and continues for more than five weeks, ending on February 7.  There will be prizes, of course, and plenty of the friendly encouragement that's come to be a hallmark of our KALs.

I'll post more about it soon . . .  for now, I just wanted to give some advance notice so you can start thinking about your stash and pattern collection, or maybe dropping hints for Santa.

Hope you can join us in January. If, like me, you're still working on holiday gifts, I hope they all go smoothly and everything is finished in time!

Links:

Blue Peninsula Ravelry Group

2016 Selfish Knitting KAL Discussion

Ravelry: Designs by Bonnie Sennott