When my husband and I think about having a dinner party, and after we pick a date and invite the guests, we start thinking about the menu.  Seasonal foods, either what's growing in the garden or available in the market always has a major influence.  But this time, Sochi came immediately to mind; it's nice when a theme is handed to you on a silver platter!  Besides vodka and caviar, we started to think about typical Russian food fare.  There are so many delicious choices and we struggled between Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Kiev as both are favorites around here (although I haven't made either in years!)

Alana Dakos newest coat, Bare Branches knit in Rowan Felted Tweed Aran.

Little gathers below the reverse stockinette bodice.

Behind the hood is a little surprise.

The bare branches in stockinette relief against reverse stockinette bodice.

I'm so excited to share this lovely lovely lovely coat with you!  I was commissioned to make this sample ages ago for Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting.  I had to send it back, (sniff) but before I did I took some modeled pics to share.  It's not a perfect fit for me, and when I make it again for me, and I WILL, I will make it a size smaller.  It's gorgeous, isn't it?  And it was so fun to knit!  Lovely little details with the bare branches in relief and little gathers below the bust.  With all the Rowan I've knit over the years I hadn't knit with Felted Tweed Aran before this.  It's every bit as lovely as Felted Tweed DK.  Soft and tweedy and whole wheaty, I cannot imagine this coat knit in anything but this.  I'm so excited this pattern is finally published.  It's part of Alana's Botanical Knits 2.  I knit a few other samples for the book and will be sharing those soon.  I met Alana at Stitches West a few years ago and she is truly  a d o r a b l e.  You can view all the new patterns of her new book here.  Look for Botanical Knits 2 available to purchase as an ebook or to pre-order in print beginning 10:00 PST, March 3.


Below is a little tute on how to make a folded hem, a technique you will need for this coat.   It makes a very fine finished hem.

You should make this.  xoxo Kristen

How to make a neat folded hem:  1) With a smaller needle, pick up stitches along cast on edge.

2) Fold the work together with wrong sides facing. 3) Knit the picked up cast on stitches together with your knit row. (I had to knit the CO stitches through the back loop.

Here's a sweet Easter project to use up those little scraps of treasured yarn that are too beautiful to toss.  These little egg hats turned out so cute I decided they'll be on my Easter table this year.  They knit up so fast you can make a dozen in no time!  I've written up the pattern and offer both two needle and four needle versions.

tête d'oeuf on two needles

Rowan Purelife Revive,  Small amounts of Marble, Pumice, Basalt, Ironstone, Loam, Flint
Needles:  US #5

Cast on 30 stitches

Rows 1-4:  Knit
Row 5: (RS) Knit
Row 6 and all even rows:  Purl
Row 7: Knit
Row 9: K2, (K3, K2 tog) 5x, K3 (25 sts.)
Row 11: K2, (K3, K2tog) 4x, K3 (21 sts.)
Row 13: K2, (K2, K2tog) 4x, K3 (17 sts.)
Row 15: K1, (K1, K2tog) 5x, K1 (12 sts.)
Row 17: K2 tog 6x (6 sts.)
Row 19: K2 tog 3x (3 sts.)
Row 21: S1, K2tog, PSSO
Fasten off and seam. 

tête d'oeuf on 4 needles

Cast on 28 stitches and knit in the round as follows:

Round 1, 3: Knit
Round 2, 4: Purl
Round 5-8 and following even rows: Knit
Round 9: K1, (K3, K2 tog) 5x, K2 (23 sts.)
Round 11: K1, (K3, K2tog) 4x, K2 (19 sts.)
Round 13: K1, (K2, K2tog) 4x, K2 (15 sts.)
Round 15: K1, (K2, K2tog) 3x, K2 (12 sts.)
Round 17: K2 tog 6x (6 sts.)
Round 19: K2 tog 3x (3 sts.)
Round 21: S1, K2tog, PSSO
Fasten off.

To blow eggs:  With sharp knife pierce a small hole in the top and bottom of egg.  Holding egg over a bowl, place your lips over the hole and blow...channel you inner Lauren Bacall;)  Now you can make scrambled eggs!

To make the eggs stand upright:  Put a little blob of hot glue on baking parchment paper and rest the egg on top.  It dries in seconds and peels off easily from the paper.  You won't see the glue if you don't use too much and gives it just the tiniest base to sit upright.


I fell in love with the Rowan Purelife Revive (made from recycled cotton, silk and viscose) after starting Guido for my son.  I just loved all the colors together and how it knits up with it's gorgeous texture.  The egg hat idea came when I gathered the beautiful colors together in a basket.  I thought, ok, this is my inspiration for my Easter table this year.

I also knit these with bits of Rowan Kid Classic, Silkystones, Pure Linen and Felted Tweed DK.  All worked with the same pattern and needle.  However any DK or Worsted weight will do for your egg hat.  I made some with Felted Tweed DK, Kid Classic and Silkystones and they're all pretty darn cute.  Even with the different weights I still used the same pattern and needle.  My oeufs did not seem to mind that some hats were more snug than others.  Let me know if you make any because I'd love to see them! xo Kristen

Congratulations to KIM Z.S.I, a Facebook follower from Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  I've messaged her and will be dropping the yarn in the mail tomorrow!

Between Facebook and the blog, there were over 600 comments.  Thank you for entering and for reading!  I loved having a giveaway so much, I'm planning another one.  I've got a terrific book in mind...

Reporting in on my KAL (knit-along) with Konrad.  Konrad is making great strides with his sweater and the needed modifications.  Below he shows what needs to be done to a woman's pullover pattern to modify to suit a man:  bring in the neckline, change waist shaping, add overall length and closer fitting sleeves.  To be honest I'm regretting my decision to back out and not make Pond below.  I was a bit insecure modifying to make it closer fitting but feel if I'd have stretched myself I could have done it.  What first attracted me to the pattern, after the color, was the dropped stitch pattern in the center panel surrounded by plain stockinette on the sides by incorporating short rows.  You can see that best in the second photo showing Konrad's progress in the color Grassland.

The "model" sweater has negative ease (it's tight!).  My new sweater is to be body skimming (true to size). I continued the increases for another 1/2" to add extra ease. After separating I did not add extra stitches in the bust or arm.

Now you are ready to attack those sleeves.  Usually, if you have added extra bust stitches you will cast on corresponding sleeve stitches.  But if you are a busty gal with skinny arms, you don't have to add the arm stitches.  It's a flexible knit fabric after all and I've found you can fudge that tiny underarm seam if the stitches don't quite match.  With this sweater I did not need to add any cast on stitches for bust or arms.  However I knit my sleeves flat and I cast on an extra sleeve stitch on each end for seaming.  If you are knitting them in the round you can ignore that.  Once you have a few inches, slip your stitches to a circular needle or waste yarn, faux seam it with a pin or two and try on.  Start your decreases, usually about 5 inches down from armpit, and continue them to your desired length.  I find I decrease every 2 inches or so, but depends on what it looks like when I try it on.  Take notes, you'll want to do the exact same thing for the next sleeve.

Try it on!

Edited 2/11:  The contest is closed and the winner has been contacted.  Thank you to all who entered, I'll be having another giveaway soon!

In celebration of Knitionary's 2,000 Facebook likes I'm having another big tower of yarn giveaway.  And naturally it's all Rowan yarn!  Your readership has meant a lot to me and this is a small way for me to give back and say thank you.  One person will win the lot, so let me tell you what it is:

From the top down there is Wool Cotton, a 50/50 machine washable blend in DK weight.  I've used this (and all the others too) many times and love it.  Easily knit into an elegant fabric, but practical for children and baby knits.

Next is Silkystones in the color Grassland.  New this season, a chic 50/50 blend of silk and linen.  I'm knitting a pullover with this now and loving it.  It has pebbly appearance that knits up easily.

Kid Classic in classic black.  An all time favorite around here.  Simply elegant blend of lambswool and kid mohair.  My choice for worsted weight outerwear.

The 4th down is Felted Tweed DK, always a favorite of tweed lovers.  This is one of the easiest yarns to knit as it has so much bounce and spring.  This is a pretty Duck Egg Blue.  50% wool, 25% alpaca and 25% viscose, a knitter's dream.  I just finished a poncho in this.

Below that is Kidsilk Amore, the big sister to Kidsilk Haze and is a new mid-season offering.  Similar in composition but bulky weight with a lofty chainette construction that knits up easily and beautifully.  I just finished a poncho with this and had a skein leftover.

The last big purple ball is Tumble in a new color, Amethyst.  This is one of the rare yarns from Rowan I have not tried.  I am not a fan of super bulkies and so leave this to someone who will treasure it.  90% alpaca, 10% cotton.

The clever knitter could squeeze a hat or several boot cuffs or wristies from each of these, but really I just want to give you a chance to get your hands on these and try them out.  I know many of you don't live near a Rowan stockist and looking at them on the internet is quite different than having them in your hands!  I'm certain you will enjoy knitting with all of them.

To enter:  Be a follower of Knitionary, and leave a comment to tell me how you follow me.  It's always interesting to find out how my readers stay in contact, be it Ravelry, FB, Bloglovin', I know there's lots of ways to follow.  Make sure there is CONTACT info!  You can't win if I can't find you!  For a second chance to win please go to the Knitionary Facebook page, like it and leave a comment under the contest post.  I'll leave this open for a week, and pick a comment from either the blog or Facebook to win.  Good luck!  This is open to international readers too.

(so sorry, cannot keep up with horrible spam, added capcha to comment section. grrr)

My friend Konrad and I have something fun planned over the next few months.  He's my knitting buddy who lives across the sea in Germany, and here I am in California.  We have chosen to knit the same 3 sweater patterns, using the same 3 yarns.  I will be knitting pretty close to the original patterns, maybe changing a little bit here and there for fit.  But Konrad has the more challenging job of modifying these women's patterns to fit a man.  But if anyone can do it, it's Konrad.  He is an experienced knitter and often bemoans the fact that there are not enough patterns out there for men and has made pattern changes many times before.  We'll be blogging all the while and you'll be able to follow along and see how, with just a few style modifications, such as substituting ribbing for lace and eliminating waist shaping and beading and well, whatever else Konrad comes up with, the right woman's pattern CAN be modified to work for a man.  Well, we think it's possible!  Come back over the next few months and we'll see if we're right!

The Spring/Summer 2014 launch is one of Rowan's best. Over the next three months we'll knit a garment with each new yarn sharing reviews and hints as we go along.  Here's what we've selected to knit for our KALs (knit-alongs):










OK, now with all that said, I have to deviate a bit.  Our first project is with the Silkystones and we are both meant to be working on Pond.  But after looking at the pattern I realized it was perhaps a little bit above my skill level to size it down as I really didn't want loose fitting sleeves from a drop shoulder.  I think it's a great look and often wear that, but didn't want it for this project.  I am instead using Silkystones in the blue Tarn and making the top down Margot.  So our first KAL is not quite the KAL I had approached Konrad with.  Sigh, sorry dear friend.  But we will still have fun and get back on track for the next sweater! :p  I hope you still speak to me in the end!