Looming Inspirations

 I wanted to share some wonderful projects that are inspiring my own looming. Color and texture are two areas I hope to improve this year, and both are a challenge for me. My first inspirational loomer is Sarah of Dye Your  Yarn. Sarah is a fabulous loom knitter who makes the most creative, beautiful hats I have ever seen. But, that is nothing compared to her wonderful blog - and blog is a poor word for it. Sarah has created an amazing encyclopedia of fiber dying. Everything you could ever want to know she has tested and tried, written out and shared. The first photo is a little taste of the yarn color guides you will find at Sarah's blog.

 Brenda, the loom lady, at Loom Lore is always inspiring my loom knitting, with beautiful projects, and creative new techniques. The second photo is a collage of Brenda's 2011 projects, and I am just overwhelmed with the creativity and beauty of each and every one.

Helen at My Heart Exposed and her lovely daughter Angelica, created this wonderful Mario-themed blanket - a loom knitting masterpiece. Helen individually loom knit each of the mitered squares, and Angelica seamed them together, a nearly 1 year long project. Sarah, Helen and Brenda inspire me to loom knit in ways I never even dreamed of, and I hope they will inspire you as well.
Copyright 2012 by Invisible Loom, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Looming for the New Year

 I'm not sure how it happened, but my looms are full, so first on my to-do list will be to finish these projects. The first photo shows a shawl made from Beaverslide wool in a fingering weight. It is a rustic feeling and looking shawl, with a purl eyelet detail. It is off the loom and blocking, so almost done.

 The second shawl is a little change for me, made from Jojoland Rhythm worsted weight yarn. I'm on the third skein, and still enjoying new color combinations. The shawl itself is a loose variation of textural stitches, including the wave stitch and linen stitch. I'm about 1/3  of the way through this project.

This third photo shows a needle design I converted for the loom so I could be part of a knit-a-long in the Small Shawls Group in Ravelry. I'm using a 90 peg 1/2 inch gauge loom with a pretty variegated fingering yarn from Shibui.
There are also some great January group knits happening. The Loom-a-long group at Ravelry is working on the "Bee Bopper Bag", a cute tote bag. The Loom Class at yahoo groups is making a darling sweater for an 18 inch doll. And the Markman Looms group at yahoo groups has its annual beginning loomers course, a great class for learning stitches and reviewing basics.

Loom Knit Shawls: From Simple to Sublime $12.00 ebook, 5 patterns with variations 
Copyright 2012 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Travel by Rail Shawl Pattern

 The Travel by Rail Shawl is a shawl for every loomer. It may be loomed on a large, regular, or small gauge loom, with worsted, DK, or fingering weight yarn. And if you want, you may even use lace weight on your Martha Stewart 3/8 inch setting. The pattern includes peg numbers and yardage for four looms sizes, including the new Martha Stewart looms.

 The shawl itself is a mid-sized shawl, worked in two colors of yarn, and trimmed with ribbon around the edges.  It sits nicely on the shoulders without slipping, and does not need a shawl pin.

 There are a few new, very simple techniques in the pattern for colorworking the rows while increasing and decreasing to create an eyelet edge. The basic fabric of the shawl is garter stitch, using the ewrap knit to create the proper ease for blocking.

 The shawls in the photos were made on my favorite CinDwood 1/2 inch gauge loom, using 48 and 50 pegs, but a 40 peg large gauge loom, or 48 peg purple hat loom, or Martha Stewart small peg configuration of 75 pegs will all work with this pattern. Best of all, the shawl is loomed entirely in one piece, with no seams.

As always, the pattern is in a large print format. I hope you all enjoy this pattern. Please let me know what you think, and whether you have liked the "Travel by" collection.
Travel by Rail Shawl $4.50 US

Loom Knit Shawls: From Simple to Sublime

$12.00 US ebook

Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Wrapping up a Year of Looming

I saw a topic on Ravelry this week for planning knitting goals for 2012. Instead, I've taken stock of 2011, which was a pretty busy loom year for me.
The year started with an ocean-inspired pattern collection that included:
Coral Reef Cap - January
Sea Glass Wrap - February
Abalone Lace Shawlette -  March
Leafy Sea Dragon Scarf - April
Pink Pearl Wrap - May
April was a very special month, with the publication of Jane's Shawl for the Loom, and with the help of my friend Helen Jacobs-Grant, Jane's Shawl for Needles, both designed from photos of a shawl in the Jane Eyre movie, and seen in the photo at the top of  this post.
The next few months were spent putting together the shawl booklet with 5 patterns, plus variations:
Sweet on Ruffles Shawl
Hydrangea Petal Lace Shawl
Peaceful Days Shawl
Diamonds in the Ruff(les)
My Fair Faroese
The end of the year brought the "Travel by" collection:
Travel by Rail Beret
Travel by Rail Cuffs
and later this week, the Travel by Rail Shawl.

I'm happy to say that 8 of these patterns were free, and I hope you have enjoyed all the patterns as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. Check back this week for the last pattern of 2011, "The Travel by Rail Shawl," seen in the second photo.
Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Looming around the Net

December will be filled with many loomy gifts, and the loom blogs have many  possibilities for us. At the top of my list is Brenda the Loom Lady's wonderful blog, Loom Lore.  Brenda has shared two new patterns, a darling "Acorn Tawashi" and a lovely "Indian Corn Hotpad". The hotpad is beautifully made in a reversed-sided linen stitch. Brenda's pattern box is filled with holiday patterns, including angels, stars, bells, candy canes and stockings. And, best of all, Brenda has an updated edition of her wonderful book from Boye, "I Taught Myself to Loom Knit."
For more looming fun, the Ravelry Loom-a-long group will be making Robin McCoy's "McCoy Mitts" pattern, with Robin hosting the loom-a-long all month.
Another sweet pattern has been shared by JEC of NEPA, at her blog "I Share With You." The "Little Girl Bag" is a perfect small gift for the holidays.
I hope to see you all over at the loom-a-long.

$12.00 "Loom Knit Shawls: From Simple to Sublime"
Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Travel by Rail Cuffs

 Today I have the second pattern from the "Travel by Rail" collection. These pretty ruffled cuffs are a fast gift to make. They may be worn several ways. The first photo shows them as a jacket or shirt cuff.

 The second photo shows them worn as a boot topper. My daughter liked them best this way.

 The third photo shows them as a cuff under a pair of jeans, over a pair of heels.

In the last photo you will see the eyelets and ribbon details. I hope you will enjoy this little pattern. Travel by Rail Cuffs for the Loom $2.49 US

 $12.00 "Loom Knit Shawls: From Simple to Sublime"
Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.

Travel by Rail Beret

 I'm very happy to give you this new pattern today. The "Travel by Rail Beret" is a simple but elegant beret, perfect to wear when you want to be warm and comfortable, yet still stylish with a touch of elegance.

 The beret features a relaxed band that will not pull on your hair, with a lace edged cast-off.

 It has a gentle swirl that ends with a tassel. I used a home-made velvet ribbon tassel, but a long tassel of any kind adds a lovely touch to this beret.

Enjoy this pattern, and please let me know how you like it. $3.00 US  

$12.00 e-book "Loom Knit Shawls: From Simple to Sublime"

Copyright 2011 by Invisible Loom and Craft, Renee Van Hoy. All Rights Reserved.