Pattern Spotlight: Mentzelia Shawlette by Tian Connaughton

Tian Connaughton is a knit and crochet designer who specializes in accessories. She has a wide range of designs and many techniques in her tool belt: textures, cables, lace, trims, and clever shaping. You'll also find some really cute cardigans in her Ravelry store. She joins us today with her newest design, Mentzelia Shawlette:

With the brand Anzula, you know what to expect with their yarns, every time. Their yarns are consistently high quality and the colors, beautiful. Their latest addition to the line, Ava, a sport weight 80/10/10 (merino/cashmere/nylon) blend is no exception. It's everything I've come to expect from this brand and dyer.

A couple months ago, Charlie at Anzula reached out to a bunch of designers about their new yarn, seeking designs featuring the new yarn. I was so thrilled to be included in that list of designers. Immediately my brain went into overdrive. So many ideas came up, but for my first pattern, I wanted to create a pattern that would be perfect for a single skein (because sometimes we grab just one skein at a show or our LYS to try out), and a design that is easy enough to adjust with additional skeins. Thus, the Mentzelia Shawlette was born.

You know when you have that single skein of precious yarn that you can’t imagine just knitting any ole’ pattern. Well, I had only the one skein of this color of this yarn and I wanted to make the very best of it. Of course the yarn is in Poppy. I have to say, this color is by far my favorite color in the long range of Anzula's colorways.

At 330 yards per skein, I figured for this design, big needles and lace would make this skein go pretty far, which it did! Worked sideways in stockinette stitch with a lovely lace edging, the Mentzelia Shawlette allow you to use up every ounce of your precious single skein. The pattern is easy to remember and very intuitive. As you progress through the lace pattern, the edge stitch counts changes, increasing and decreasing as you to create the beautiful points along the edge of the shawlette.

You can find the Mentzelia Shawlette pattern on Ravelry. Ava will be appearing in yarn shops in the next couple of weeks and is available for special order from all shops that carry Anzula yarns, both LYS and online.

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Pattern Spotlight: Lucienne Scarf by Katy Carroll

Katy Carroll's designs are bold, full of bright colors, and usually, at least a few cables. Sounds pretty great right? She joins us today to tell about her newest pattern, Lucienne Scarf:

I was so excited to have a chance to work with Ava, Anzula's new sport weight blend. Of course, I hadn't seen Ava yet, but having knit with several Anzula yarns, and having scoped out even more of them at trunk shows, I knew it wouldn't disappoint.

The first thing that struck me about Ava was its bouncy twist, which is one of my favorite things to discover in a yarn. While I like a lot of different knitting techniques, I'm a cable-lover at heart, and I'll always try to find a way to sneak them into designs and projects. A round yarn like this shows off cables so well, but the softness from the MCN content also gives it a beautiful drape. it was a tactile treat to knit! I also think Ava has a lot of inherent versatility, both in terms of gauge and the types of projects for which it could be used. it would make an amazing sweater!

Knowing that Ava would be released in the spring, I chose the vibrant, sunny Saffron colorway for my design. And thinking about Spring further, I knew I wanted a pattern that had an open and airy feel to it. I decided that I would incorporate dropped stitches somehow, but while dropped stitches can be fun (it feels so subversive to drop them on purpose!), they can leave the stitches on either side looking sloppy. Unless you're aiming for a deconstructed, "Matrix-y" look, that may not be what you want. This "cables and lace" motif is ideal for the purpose, though - it's bordered by decreases on either side, which keep the edges crisp and distinct. A few purl columns in between the motifs are dropped down at the end of the work, and while you don't get to enjoy that moment of transformation until the very end of your knitting, it's well worth the wait!

Ava's generous yardage allowed me to use most of all of two skeins to make a wide, lengthy scarf that could be draped loosely during transitional months, or worn more snugly in colder weather. Look for Ava's debut at VK Live in Pasadena this weekend, with the Anzula yarns at the Yarnover Truck booth 121-123!

Can't make it to VK Live? No worries, Ava will be appearing in shops soon. If you want it even sooner you can always place a special order at your favorite Anzula shop.

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Pattern Spotlight: Mediterranean Seas Lap Blanket by Kalliopi Aronis

We're so happy to have Kalliopi Aronis of Little Brown Sheep tell the tale of her new pattern:

I was so happy when Anzula contacted me to let me know a new yarn was on the way! How exciting! Even better, the fiber content of Ava is the same as Squishy, my favorite (although now it's tying with Ava).

Would I like to design with it? Of course! And with that I was off tearing through the house to find my Moleskin notebook.

I had a general idea of what I wanted to do withing the time constraints, something that didn't need sizing and something larger than an accessory. My first thought was a large throw.

Then reality sank in.

Maybe a baby blanket would be a better size... That would be an interesting photo-shoot to take on with no cribs or babies available. Perhaps a lap blanket, that's a real thing, right?

I poured through Anzula colorways and Aqua and Blueberry looked particularly Mediterranean to me. I grew up in Greece and having the sea as my playground is something for which I've always been incredibly grateful. I didn't live on an island, but the sea by my apartment would take on the most amazing colors; pale greens on a calm day or dark grays during strong winds. And the blue waters matching the shutters of the island homes. How could I not incorporate that? With the overall design and colors chosen I sent Anzula my idea and request for yarn.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, and some yarn winding on my knees. I then started working on my swatch and I had an epiphany. If there's something I don't feel like knitting why would anyone else want to knit it?

I asked myself a few questions: Do I care more about making it complicated or just interesting enough where I could still watch Property Brothers and not have to pay too much attention? What is the root cause of the abandoned 25 WIPs in my china cabinet?

After some thought I realized that the cause of my WIPs is that I simply lost interest. Either the pattern was too difficult, too easy, or the yarn didn't want to become a stole/sock/vest. so how could I prevent this from happening in my own design?

I’m big on memorizable yet impressive patterns and I wanted them to retain a Mediterranean influence that would blend cohesively with the colors. After some more swatching, I decided on an easier lace pattern with simple repeats and reverse stockinette borders which turned to lovely waves below the lace and a textured pattern for the blue as opposed to a Greek key, which would’ve involved more chart reading.

Now there’s nice balance between the lace and colored resting rows. It has achieved the look I was going for, a reflection of the ubiquitous island architecture, a beach with a stone walkway leading up to a white house framed by beautiful flowers.

Working with Ava is like a dream. It’s a wonderful yarn, incredibly soft and warm. The stitch definition is wonderful, every stitch shows up crisply and cleanly. It makes the blanket a uniquely beautiful work of art.

So bring a piece of the Mediterranean into your home with this cozy lap blanket. Perhaps you’ll even catch a whiff of the salty sea…

You can find the pattern for Mediterranean Seas Lap Blanket on Ravelry and the Ava yarn at VK Live this weekend in the Yarnover Truck booth (121-123).

Can't make it to VK Live? No worries, Ava will be appearing in shops soon. If you want it even sooner you can always place a special order at your favorite Anzula shop.

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