This Autumn, I had the honour of collaborating with Eve of Eve Chambers Textiles and Frankie of Python Charms on our Planetary Sisters countdown calendar. The calendar included stitch markers from PythonCharms, 12 mini skeins and an enamel pin from Eve Chambers Textiles, and the Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl pattern, an enamel pin, a rainbow bulb stitch markers, and a cotton project bag from me.
Get Your Own Sunrise or Sunset Fade
Eve originally created a limited run of the Planetary Sisters 12 20-gram mini skein set in two color fades, Sunrise and Sunset. She has dyed another batch of each for anyone who missed the Countdown Calendar but still wants this beautiful fade. Each mini skein has 80 meters of beautiful 100% BFL wool, so the fade has 960 meters total.
Sunrise is available for €60 from her Etsy shop (free post in Ireland). These were inspired by hope and her friendship with Frankie and me. The winter chill and cold shifting to the warm glow of a new day brought about the gentle hues in her sunrise fade.
Sunset is available for €60 from her Etsy shop (free post in Ireland). These were inspired by energy, and as with Sunset the 70s music was the dyeing dance soundtrack. Bright embers shifting to frosty cool blues create this vibrant fade.
#CassiopeiaKAL
Now, we are having a Cassiopeia KAL and you can join us. I wrote a blog post about it, but Python Charms has a KAL hub with regular updates, useful links, and fun posts. To sign up for free for our Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl KAL, visit PythonCharms site.
We cast on with a group Zoom on January 20th. A weekly Zoom meetup will help us feel connected as we work through our knits. There is no race to the finish, just the fun of a shared knitting project and sense of community. There will be spot prizes too!
I am knitting with my Eve Chambers Sunrise set. The pastel fade that reminds me Xanadu.
Our Collaboration
The collaboration grew from our isolation in lockdown and wishing to retain and strengthen our sense of community. A sense of sisterhood grew from that. Though a professional collaboration resulted, our chats were (and remain) equally filled with supportive messages for one another and reminders to have a healthy afternoon snack.
If you are a regular reader of EvinOK, you’ll recognise Frankie and Eve’s names from past posts, particularly when I interviewed them about their creative endeavours. You can read my interview with Frankie of PythonCharms and my interview with Eve of Eve Chambers Textiles.
Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl
Let all the beautiful mini skeins you’ve collected shine. This shawl is knit on the bias with easy-to-memorize stitches, making for an approachable wrap. The stitch pattern emulates the constellation after which the pattern is named with subtle W-shaped eyelets. I wrote a whole post about the Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl pattern.
Yarn: The Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl can be knit with scraps, mini skeins, or even three 100g skeins in a fade or striped combination you love. This works really well as a stash busting project, using mini skeins, scraps, and partial balls of yarn. Any colors, any order, have some fun! I recommend using at least 240 grams sock weight yarn (or 12 30g mini skeins).
Construction/Shape: Bias rectangle knit side-to-side.
Finished measurements: Each 20-gram mini skein section equals about 4” (10cm) of rows. Adjust the number of mini skeins for your ideal length. Knit with 16 20g minis (320 grams) of 4ply/fingering/sock resulted in a voluminous wrap measuring 50cm (l) x 242cm (w) after blocking.
Buy the pattern: The individual pattern is available from LoveCrafts or you can buy the entire ebook on Ravelry. Scroll down for details on the print edition of the book.
Ultraviolet Knits
The Cassiopeia Mini Skein Shawl is from my latest book, Ultraviolet Knits: Twelve knitting patterns featuring UV-reactive hand-dyed wool (Anchor and Bee, 2020), which was released at the end of March. Nothing like launching a book at the start of a pandemic, right? This collection features 12 original accessory knitting patterns designed with black light-reactive hand-dyed wool-based yarns.
This collection is inspired by the night’s sky, some from the view from Earth, such as star-gazing from a porch swing, while others pay homage to astronomy. Each of the 12 accessory patterns works well with bold, speckled, and vibrant yarns as well as semi-solid and neutrals, making the designs well suited for using those treasured skeins in your yarn collection.
These accessory designs are excellent for travel knitting given their size. For festival-goers or everyday use, these finished objects are ones you’ll want to wear.
All 12 patterns from Ultraviolet Knits: Twelve knitting patterns featuring UV-reactive hand-dyed wool (Anchor and Bee, 2020) are available for individual purchase on LoveCrafts. This collection features 12 original accessory knitting patterns designed with black light-reactive hand-dyed wool-based yarns.
for individual patterns
for individual patterns or the complete ebook with all 12 patterns
