Accessories – Ann Budd Knits

A KAL in Support of Alzheimer’s Research

May 27, 2020 / Accessories, Charity, crescent shawl, healing, Patterns, Shawls / 1 Comment

As more of my friends and family become victim to Alzheimer’s disease, I find myself more passionate about the fight against it. That’s why I’ve registered to take part on The Longest Day this summer to raise awareness (and hopefully a whole lot of funds) for the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Longest Day is the day with the most light (the summer solstice), which will be June 20 this year. It’s also the day that the Alzheimer’s Association calls on everyone to fight Alzheimer’s disease by raising funds and awareness for care, support, and research. For my part, I’ll knit from sunrise (somewhere around 5:00 am) to sunset (somewhere around 9:00 pm) Mountain Standard Time.

I’ve designed a special project for this event. The Fading Memories crescent shawl (available on Ravelry) represents the increasing holes in the memories of those afflicted with Alzheimer’s, in a colorway inspired by The Longest Day logo.

For every Fading Memories pattern sold, I will donate $5 to Alzheimer’s research.

The yarn I used is The Mystery of The White Plum gradient kit of 6 mini skeins specially dyed by indie dyer Schmutzerella Yarns. The yarn is 75% superwash merino and 25% nylon; there are 92 yards (20 grams) of each color for a total of 552 yards (120 grams). The Fading Memories shawl uses nearly all of the 552 yards in the gradient pack.

For every gradient pack sold (click here to order), Schmutzerella Yarns will donate $5 to Alzheimer’s.

I’m delighted to announce that other indie dyers and yarn shops have join in the fight by producing other yarns that work equally well for the Fading Memories shawl pattern.

Sun Valley Fibers has created a merino/cashmere/nylon gradient set of six 100-yard skeins (600 yards total) called The Longest Day.

Kits will initially be available at The Longmont Yarn Shoppe, in Longmont, Colorado, and later at www.SunValleyFibers.com.

For every gradient pack of The Longest Day sold, $10 will be donated to Alzheimer’s.

Emma’s Yarn, based at Four Purls Yarn Shop in Winter Haven, Florida, has dyed a special Hella Hank (80% superwash merino, 20% nylon; 600 yards). The color, called Bright Spot, is a reminder to look for the positive in any unfortunate situation.

For every skein of Bright Spot sold, $5 will be donated to Alzheimer’s.

The Bazaar Girls Yarn Shop and Fibre Emporium in Port Townsend, Washington, is offering three yarn choices.
They will donate 10% of proceeds of each skein of the following yarns sold to Alzheimer’s if you mention the Fading Memories shawl.

Elemental Affects Civility (70% US merino, 30% mulberry silk; about 600 yards) in the special Fading Memories colorway.

Available at The Bazaar Girls Yarn Emporium in Port Townsend, Washington.

Colinton Lace Blends (80% unbrushed mohair, 20% silk; 250 yards) in the Slate Variegated colorway.

You will need two to three skeins for the Fading Memories shawl shown above.

Colinton Lace Blends are only available at The Bazaar Girls Yarn Emporium in Port Townsend, Washington.

Jorstad Creek has a three-skein set (600 yards total) of Ursa Minor fingering weight (75% superwash merino, 15% nylon, 10% silver stellina): 1 skein each of Silver, Lavendar, and Sapphire. The kit colorway is called Stardust Memories.

Available at The Bazaar Girls Yarn Emporium in Port Townsend, Washington.

On June 20 (the longest day of this year), I’ll knit another version of my Fading Memories shawl and track my hourly progress through Instagram posts. Follow me at annbuddknits. Better yet, join me in the knit-a-long and support these yarn shops and indie dyers while donating to a great cause!

Either way, please visit my fundraising page and make a donation. You don’t have to wait until June to give — funds are welcome right now.

Thank you.

A Year of Patterns

December 31, 2019 / Accessories, Baby, blanket, Cowls, Patterns, Sweaters / 2 Comments

I’m not one to make New Year’s Resolutions (too much pressure), but I do find myself reflecting on my accomplishments at the end of each year. I posted nine (9!) projects on website and I’d like to celebrate that with you.

From now until midnight Sunday, January 5, you can receive 30% off the Ravelry purchase price of all of my 2019 patterns. Use the code 9in2019 when you check out with any (or all) of the following patterns.

1.Aubrey Cardigan 2.Beach Cusps Cowl 3.Dalton Cardigan

4.Florentine Filigree Cowl 5.Junior Goat Herder Pullover 6.La Jolla Shores Cowl

7.Mont Tremblant Cowl 8.Port Townsend Swing Cardi 9.Walker Baby Blanket

Multi Tasking

November 19, 2019 / Accessories, Hats, Home

In the now-I’ve-seen-everything department, my soon-to-be brother-in-law sent me a link to a rocking chair that he thought would interest me.

No kidding!

Who doesn’t love to knit while gently swaying back and forth in a rocker? The Rocking Knit chair designed by Damien Ludi and Colin Peillex takes this concept to a new level. The chair is designed so that kinetic energy produced from the rocker’s gliding motion actually knits a hat as you relax and rock back and forth.

The gears at the top of the chair turn and draw yarn up into what looks like a giant spool knitters with every sway back and forth. As you read the paper, the chair knits a tube that can be turned into a hat!

Just think — if you were to knit while rocking in this chair, you could produce two hats at once! If the knitting circumference were larger, you could knit a sweater body while knitting the sleeves by hand.

Go to this website to see the chair in action.

Advent Fun

October 29, 2019 / Accessories, Notions, Patterns, Toys / 1 Comment

My friends at River City Yarns in Edmonton, Canada, have put together another Advent Box for 2019. The box contains 24 individually wrapped gifts, marked with a do-not-open-before date. Each day of December you get to open a package to reveal a skein of River City exclusive yarn, a special pattern or project kit, a tasty treat, or an indispensable tool. Every year River City Yarns creates a new set of treats: so far, there are no repeats. The photo here shows a variety of knitted trees, just one of the gifts from a previous Advent Box. I can’t tell you how delighted I was last year to discover one treat included a skein of yarn and the pattern for my Peaks and Ridges Cowl. This year I’ve designed something new that will remain a secret until its designated date.

If you don’t live in the Edmonton area, you can order your box online at rivercityyarns.myshopify.com/products/rcyadventbox2019. The quantities are limited, so don’t wait. The boxes will begin shipping October 27; in-store pick-up begins November 9.

La Jolla Shores Cowl

October 15, 2019 / Accessories, Cowls, Knit For Fun Retreats, Retreats

Designed for my Fall 2019 Knit For Fun Retreat in La Jolla, California, The La Jolla Shores Cowl features yarnover increases and directional decreases in a modified Old Shale pattern. To me, the scalloped pattern represents clusters of flowers, which are all so abundant in Southern California.

The pattern repeats over 17 stitches and 12 rounds and is easy to memorize if markers are placed at the end of every 17-stitch repeat.

The fingering weight yarn is a luxurious blend of merino, cashmere, and nylon in a bright pink colorway specially dyed for the retreat participants by Yarning For You, located in nearby San Marcos, California.

Both charted and written instructions are provided.

Use the code LAJOLLA to receive 20% off the Ravelry purchase price of La Jolla Shores Cowl between now and midnight Mountain Standard Time on Friday, October 18, 2019.

A New Cowl Pattern

August 27, 2019 / Accessories, Cowls, Patterns

Designed for my Fall 2019 Knit For Fun Retreat in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, The Mont Tremblant Cowl features cables and directional decreases in a diagonal pattern that makes me think of ski and snowboard trails in the snow.

The relatively simple pattern repeats over18 stitches and 6 rounds. The yarn, a delightful DK-weight blend of 90% superwash merino and 10% silk was specially dyed by Canadian dyer Julie Asselin in a colorway inspired by the blue water of Lac Tremblant and named Knit For Fun.

Both charted and written instructions are provided.

Use the code TREMBLANT to receive 20% off the Ravelry purchase price of Mont Tremblant Cowl between now and midnight Mountain Standard Time on Friday, August 30, 2019.

Oh, Baby!

July 16, 2019 / Accessories, Baby, Home, Patterns / 1 Comment

In celebration of my niece’s baby (the first grandchild on my side of the family), I designed what I believe is my first knitted baby blanket. I named it Walker Baby Blanket, in honor of my side of the family. My hope is that this soft and squishy blanket will keep her little nugget warm and cozy in a stroller, car seat, or crib.

The blanket begins with a circular cast-on in the center, and then progresses outward in four sections of ever-widening stripes of moss stitch bounded by eyelet increases. It’s edged with garter-stitch stripes and finished with a decorative Channel Island bind-off.

This practical blanket is knitted out of machine-washable Knit One Crochet Too DungarEASE (60% cotton, 40% acrylic; 250 yards [228 meters]/100 grams) in Sand (gray), Chambray (blue), Cactus (green), and Buttercup (yellow) on size 8 (5 mm) needles for a gauge of 18 stitches per 4″ (10 cm).

To encourage the new parents to use the blanket, I added a fun “wear it out” tag that I purchased from Four Purls knit shop in Winter Haven, Florida, last fall.

Use the code BABY to get 20% off the purchase price of this pattern on Ravelry between now and midnight on Friday, July 26.

Beach Cusps Cowl

June 25, 2019 / Accessories, Cowls, Patterns

I’ve added a new cowl pattern on Ravelry.

Designed for my Spring 2019 Knit For Fun Retreat in Freeport, Maine, this lacy cowl is named for the cuspate deposits of beach material created by wave action along shorelines. The rolled cast-on and bind-off edges and scallops in the modified Old Shale stitch pattern mimic rippling waves, the eyelets are reminiscent of sea foam, and the garter ridges represent undulating deposits of seaweed, shells, and sea glass.

The yarn is a luxurious blend of merino, cashmere, and nylon in a specially dyed Sea Glass colorway by Maine’s own Seven Sisters Arts.

Worked in the round, the pattern repeats over 18 stitches and 10 rounds.

Use the code BEACH to receive 20% off the purchase price of Beach Cusps Cowl on Ravelry between now and midnight Saturday, June 29.

A Whole Lotta Love!

February 5, 2019 / Accessories, Patterns, Shawls

When I was the Knit Doctor at the first-ever retreat sponsored by LoopsLove in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last January, Ross of Dye For Knitting created a colorway in my honor called Loops Loves Ann. I was so touched that I asked Ross to dye a semi-solid to pari with it, which I asked him to name Ann Loves Loops. I combined the two in the brioche shawl shown here, which I’ve called Loops Amore Shawl.

This two-color shallow crescent shawl begins with a 3-stitch garter-stitch tab around which stitches are picked up and worked for a few inches in a garter-stripe pattern. The pattern then shifts to classic two-color brioche rib and ends with the colors reversed for a brioche lace edging.

The shape is achieved by increasing 6 stitches (3 stitches at each end of the needle) every 2 rows in the garter-stripe pattern, then 6 stitches every 8 rows in the brioche rib pattern. I used the Italian method (also known as the K1, P1 Tubular or Invisible Rib method) for a smooth bind-off along the lower slightly scalloped edge.

The reversible shawl has all the squishy appeal of brioche and it stays put on the shoulders.

You can purchase a kit from Loops for just $54.99, which includes the pattern and two skeins of each of the two colors in three possible colorways.

You can also buy the individual Loops Amore Shawl pattern on Ravelry. Use the coupon code LOVE FEST to receive 20% off the Ravelry purchase price between now and midnight Saturday, February 9.