Scarf Sale!

Get your holiday knitting on!

In honor of the magnificently giftable qualities of knitted scarves, I am having a sale on selected scarf and shawlette patterns in my ravelry shop!

Purchase two of the selected list of scarf patterns, and receive 25% off your total price! This is like getting the second pattern for 50% off!

Choose from: Gothic Leaf Scarf, Knotty Scarflet, Angel Pearls Beaded Scarf, Confluence Shawlette, Due Amori Gloves and Scarf, River Rock Scarf, Wings of Song, Butterfly Wrap and Victorian Shoulderette.

Just in time for your last minute holiday gifts.. so get moving! This will be in place until the end of the year.

Happy holidays, Sivia

Aphrodite Revealed

Hello all,

Just to let you know that the Summer 2009 Issue of Twist Collective is now up. If you are not yet familiar with this beautifully put together online publication, you can read all of the many articles and features for free, and of course see the gorgeous photographs of all the patterns. If you would like to purchase a pattern, you can do so on the shop page. All patterns are available as pdf downloadable files only.

Have I mentioned how thrilled I am to be a part of this publication, in the company of so many other great designers?

I hope you like Aphrodite... She is on the cover of the magazine, and on page 10! Please do take a peek!

If you are on Ravelry, you can favorite or queue the pattern, and also see what everyone else is doing with theirs. The Ravelry library page for Aphrodite can be found here.

There is also an Aphrodite knitalong just getting started on my Ravelry group.

Now forgive me if I indulge myself by posting these *homemade* blocking pics of both versions of Aphrodite, complete with blocking gremlin!

Rings of Harmonia

Harmonia's Rings is now available!

This newest addition, a warm and graceful cowl design, was born during the One World Moebius knit along that started right before the US election in November.

This is reflected in the name of the cowl, “Harmonia’s Rings," after the Greek goddess of contentment and harmony. The spiral shape of the center and the outlying rings of the cowl look exactly like the ripple effect that happens when a droplet falls into a pool of water…

Thanks to all for their encouraging remarks about the project so far! I love this piece which is quite sculptural and very cozy and warm. It is made in rings of telescoping pleats that arrange themselves cozily around your neck, and the cowl can also be stretched up over most of your head if desired, making it a sort of honorary wimple.

I used two yarns for these samples, Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Peru in Valkyrie (the purplish sample modeled by Christa Giles) and Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Tanzanite mix (the tealish sample modeled by me). I believe any soft, warm worsted weight yarn would work for this design.

You may notice also that the design features a beaded picot bind off at the edge of the spiral opening. I couldn't resist adding beads, although there aren't many.. but I reserved a place of honor for them.

This is a design that will perplex your knitting (and non-knitting) friends, and I guarantee that no one will be able to figure out how the thing was constructed!!! It will be our little secret. The actual knitting is easy and suitable for beginning knitters. You will need to know Cat Bordhi's Moebius cast on. But you will be a better person for learning this... you can thank me later.

May contentment reign...

As the Moebius Turns...

So turns the world.

Tomorrow the US will have a chance for a new beginning, and I truly hope that the healing can then begin. Read on for a way for all knitters to join in together and help in this process! I have a little *prize* at the end for all of you as well.

I just received a wonderful message from Cat Bordhi about a way to heal ourselves and our very disturbed and torn world through the humble act of knitting a Moebius scarf or wrap... which is one of my most loved and cherished things to do, and I know many of you share this feeling.

For those of you who have always wanted to knit a Moebius but didn't know how to start, Cat has generously provided a video explaining the cast on, which you can view here.

Now I hand the *microphone* over to Cat... please read!!!

November 3, 2008

Heal the Election Wounds and Embrace Humanity with a Moebius

By Cat Bordhi

I awoke this morning realizing that publicly knitting a beautiful Moebius scarf as I begin to float (I live on an island), drive, and fly toward Stitches East on Tuesday would be a beautiful and profound public expression of my hopes and dreams for the world, as well as a symbol of the healing that our country will need after the election.

If you want to follow along, I recently made a Youtube video which will clearly teach you how to knit a Moebius whether you have my books or not. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4

So - here is why the Moebius is a perfect expression of the best of humanity, and the healing of the fractured country and world that I trust is coming:

1. The Moebius *appears* to have two surfaces and two edges - ie, polarities such as black and white, right and wrong, good and bad, Republican and Democrat - but when you follow the surface around you will run right into your starting point without ever having changed to the other "side." For there isn't one. Everything flows into itself. Polarities are an illusion. What lies beneath the apparent polarities is oneness, beauty, and grace. In a Moebius you can see it, hold it, be awed by it. Once the frenzy dies down, hopefully those with opposing views will slowly rediscover their common humanity.

2. Like the surface that flows into itself, so too does the Moebius's single continuous edge - thus everything is recycled. In fact, I would not be the least bit surprised if the ultimate alternative energy involves a Moebius form or dynamic. By the way, the recycling symbols (2 are in common usage, one with a single twist, the other with 3) you see everywhere are actually Moebii (too hard to say Moebiuses - try it!). I think we are all hoping for significant and effective new discoveries in alternative energy - and the Moebius would be a great symbol for this global effort.

3. Once you complete the first ring (it takes 2 rings to make a round - watch the video) of your Moebius, you are in for smooth and happy sailing. All you have to do is to knit the stitch in front of you, then the next stitch in front of you, with not a care in the world for what came before or what has shifted into the "future". You'll look at the mysterious shape on your needles and wonder how "those stitches" can ever come to you . . . well, they will, without your needing to understand how. And they will all come in perfect sequence, resulting in a beautiful and graceful Moebius. The Moebius rewards your faith in its mystery with the easiest knitting you will ever do. And the result is always graceful - for this is the very nature of the Moebius. You can knit along while you watch the election results, while walking, while standing in line at the store, wherever you may find yourself during these days to come. You will be knitting the graceful healing and ease that I believe is flowing toward us, requiring only of us that we stay true to the powerful sense of loving kindness that resides in the center of every person. No one could ever possibly understand enough to make the healing happen, but if we all just knit the stitch before us, as they come, marveling at the innocence and sweetness of it all, with our oh so familiar continuous strand of yarn, the healing will happen. We need not understand either one fully - the Moebius or the world. They both operate with inherent grace.

4. I looked through my stash and chose a luminous yarn in deep watery colors from Blue Moon Fiber Arts - LSS (Luscious Single Silk), and did not realize until I looked at the label that the colorway is absolutely apropos: Lunasea. Tina no doubt named the colorway after the moon and the sea - and after lunacy. So let the lunacy of the election months give way to Lunasea - the grace of the moon, the sea, the Moebius, and the beautiful heart of humanity, of all people, the "us" and "them" who merge into one. I shall be winding the skein on the ferry tomorrow, then knitting all the way to Baltimore. I hope to see many, many of you there.

With love from Cat Bordhi

Note: If you alternate sets of knit and purl rounds, you will have purl ridges all around. Then your Moebius will not curl along the edges when you are done.

Now back to me...

In honor of Cat's generosity and the importance of the day, I am releasing a Moebius scarf pattern for you all to enjoy as a free download. I call it Elegant Arrows, and it features a lovely and graceful herringbone rib that showcases many yarns, from simple and elegant (like the one pictured) to colorful. I also include full instructions in the pattern for doing a beaded picot edging, which is a favorite way to bind off a Moebius as it accents the crossing point so well.

Download the pattern from my website here

or from Ravelry here.

I am now doing one in Noro's Silk Garden Sock and I am very happy with how beautiful it is to knit a Moebius and watch the colors changing en route... pictures soon.

I hope all of you decide to join Cat and me in this worthy event, starting tomorrow... Happy Moebius knitting to all!

Uno Amore, Up Close and Personal

Kristine asked for a closeup of the scarf, so here it is... ask and you shall receive!



Click for bigger.. hope this fills the bill.

She also asked for information on how the beads go into the design. Here is a description of sorts.

First, the beads go across the beaded purl edging. After the edging is complete, the pattern separates into several patterns across the row, of which two are beaded: the right and left cables and the Fan pattern, which only contains 3 beads in itself but after 20 rows becomes the Beaded Center Pattern which features one centered bead every fourth row of the scarf. Most of the 500 beads go into the beaded cables, and you could still get the impact of beads by just beading the center stitch in my opinion. Hope that helps you sort out your bead priorities!

In other news, I have written a draft of the Rolling Thunder Glove pattern but still need someone to test the larger size. Is anyone up for that??? Please contact me here or at my regular email address, siviaharding AT shaw DOT ca.

In other non knitting news, I have taken up learning the ukelele! Hehe... more on that later, perhaps MUCH later...

Happy almost Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone!

Two Lovers

Now available: the Dué Amori Gloves and Scarf.

Two Lovers... Lace and beads provide sinuous lines in this poetic glove and scarf duo. Fan and Leaf lace motifs are framed by twisted ribs in the gloves and mirrored beaded waving cables in the scarf. The gloves are in two lengths, sized for women’s small, medium and large.

The Dué Amori Gloves and Scarf Set is designed for fingering weight yarn and requires 400 yards of yarn for the scarf and 180 (300) yards for the shorter (longer) gloves. I used a US 2-3 (3 mm) needle for the scarf and US 2 (2.5 mm) needles for the gloves, which are knit in the round. The gloves are sized in two lengths for women's small, medium and large.

The set shown above is worked in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction (50% merino, 50% tencel, 400 yds/100 g) in the Quilla colorway. The set required two skeins. The pattern features beads as a prominent part of the design. The scarf requires approximately 500 size 6/0 beads; the shorter gloves, 114 (122, 130) beads. The longer gloves require 134 (142, 150) beads. For the samples, I used off-white pearl finish seed beads.

Below, the longer gloves are worked in Seduction in the Tanzanite colorway with silver lined amethyst beads. The longer pair requires one skein of yarn.

Thank you, Jamie and Francesca, for the modeling, camera clicking and pinch hitting all around!

And especially a huge, huge thank you to my test knitters, Carin and Kat, who are my saving angels and I bow at their feet...

The pattern is available for sale (so far) on ravelry, my website, Patternfish, and the Knitting Zone as a pdf download. More soon I hope!


Happy knitting to all... enjoy.

Progress and More Progress

So... just to catch up, since I have been back from the retreat, most of my time has been spent visiting with my Mom (she went back home a little over a week ago), answering emails and such, and working at the shop.

But a few things have been getting knitted too.. and here is a little progress report on those.

First, the Dué Amori items now include a pair of long gloves in the works as well as a pair of shorter (gauntlet length) gloves, and the scarf is close to being finished.


The scarf, like the shorter gloves, is being done is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in the Quilla colorway, with 6/0 pearl beads. More pictures promised when finished... it promises to be one of the nicest eye candy lace pieces yet, if I do say so myself. Here it is shown about one-half blocked, one half unblocked, and still on the needles for the rest.


The longer gloves are in progress too, and they are lovely in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in the Tanzanite colorway with silver lined matte amethyst beads that Nancy gave me during the retreat... thank you my dear! They are perfect for this yarn! Here you see the Fan Pattern that begins all of the gloves, and then the beaded lace pattern that continues up most of the length of the glove to culminate in the leaf pattern on the hand, which I promise to show when it's done!

This shows the decreases on the back of the long, opera length glove. I think this view is quite elegant actually...


And here is actually something JUST FOR ME! Yes, I DO knit for myself sometimes, strangely enough! I picked up this beautiful Rowan Felted Tweed yarn at the Beehive when we passed through Victoria on the way to the retreat, and I truly love working with it. The Leaf Yoke Pullover pattern is from a Classic Elite Summer booklet but it will be very fall-like by the time I am done. I love the in-the-round top-down construction and it is a perfect foil for the detailed knitting I am doing otherwise. I am making several mods of course, starting with the leaf cable, which if you can tell is a bit fatter and rounder than in the pattern. What can I say... it's probably pathological the way I just can't do a pattern as written... ahem.

And here is something I had to start, with a great new yarn we are carrying at Three Bags Full, Malabrigo Sock. Hehe... my mom literally walked away with my only samples of my Rolling Thunder sock pattern so I just had to start another pair... right? This one is working up beautifully (if I do say so myself) in the Tiziano Red colorway with some amazing Toho triangle beads. I am really enjoying the knit, even though the most interesting part is done and now it is just ribbing and regular top down sock stuff, which makes it my designated car and bus project for the next little while. Here is a pic of the sock top so far:

I guess I am getting the Fall Knitting Bug...

Dué Amori Unveiled

I think it's time for a little unveiling... this is the first glimpse of my new design that will be released soon, right after the workshop that will be happening on Vancouver Island in early September. It might be a little premature because the patterns are not completely ready, but I just couldn't wait any more!

The Dué Amori Glove in its shorter version, medium size. There is also an opera-length version, and two more sizes available.

The start of the Dué Amori Scarf, unfinished and unblocked. Note the beaded cables and lovely little cable needle... more on that later.

The Dué Amori Glove and Scarf set is shown using a stunning yarn in a new and very ethereal colorway: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in Quilla, one of the brand new Spirit Colorways. I feel so privileged to be working with this yarn... it is literally angelic in look AND feel. I am using size 6/0 pearlized seed beads, which lend a sweet Victorian air to the design.

I do hope you like them so far... more progress shots promised soon.

In other news, a big thank you to all who expressed such delight in the new stole pattern, Midnight Lace Stole from Alt Fiber. I have now added the pattern to Ravelry so you can queue it up! Go over and do it right now!!!

And a little word about a beautiful knitting tool from Leslie Wind, the sinuous, lovely cable needle necklace in bronze. I don't have it on a necklace as I prefer to keep it stowed in my knitting tool box, so forgive me Leslie! I love the heaviness of the bronze which makes it stay put while you are doing your other manipulations, and the squat shape of mine (each one of her cable needles are completely unique in size and shape) is perfect. Leslie will even customize your cable needle for the size of yarn you use most. What more can you ask for????

You can go here to view a video of the cable needle necklace in action and purchase your own. I was fortunate enough to get mine in person at Three Bags Full.

Happy knitting to all...

River, River, Rock, Rock

It's out... my version of the River Rock Scarf. I included not one, not two, but FOUR designs in this pattern, plus multiple ideas for play.

I hope people go nuts with this. It is one of my favorite designs ever.
This design was first seen in No Sheep For You, which came out last year. But I thought it had other possibilities and I couldn't help exploiting those possibilities.. thus the four new charts for this beaded scarf, which can be done using almost any yarn from sport to worsted weight, and any amount of beads from minimal to ridiculous.

In case anyone is bead phobic, or convinced that stringing beads is dorky, or that it can not be as good as hooking beads on with a crochet hook, I have provided information on how to make this a fast and fun knit, including hints and tips on what I call “bead management”.

You can find it on my website here, on Ravelry here, and other places soon. The rumor is that Ellen over at Earth Faire is going to be offering kits! Yay!

And last but not ever least, thank you to Kristina of Brouhaha fame, for her wonderful brain.

New Things Emerging

Yes, it's true. New things are emerging chez Sivia. In no particular order, here they are.

First is the debut of my Year of Lace shawl design, Phoenix Rising. I dare not display a full picture for fear of spoiling the surprise for those who haven't received their kits in the mail. The yarn is Silk Lace from Claudia's Handpainted Yarns, and the color??? Sivia's Hot Orange Brick, of course! Here is a little tiny teaser swatch:


Amazingly enough, some of the subscribers have already almost finished the shawl, as you will see if you follow the threads on Ravelry.

Second up is the debut of the wonderful and much-anticipated book, More Big Girl Knits. It is big, it is beautiful, and it has two Sivia Harding designs inside. More later with pictures.



Third is a new version of the pattern that was first seen in the book No Sheep for You, the River Rock Scarf. My version has more information about making this design an exercise in stream of consciousness knitting and contains not one but two scarf templates.


More... so much more. New shawl and new sock designs are in the works. Stay tuned for those...

And to all who contributed to my father's charity fund. The contribution has been made, a total of $2,341, which went to MSF. Blessings and thanks to all, not just to those who made monetary contributions, but to all the folks who sent love and condolences, and to those beautiful people who shared their own stories with me.

Victory and Defeat

The best and the worst sometimes happen at the very same time. In case you, dear readers, are wondering whether Sivia (and the Norwegian Woods) have dropped off the face of the earth, never fear. The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, in the words of the immortal Mark Twain.

The good news: Norwegian Woods is now OUT! Sized for scarf or shawl, yarn requirements are 470 yards for the scarf, 900 for the shawl. Beads, if you choose to use them, are size 8/0 seed beads or the equivalent. You will need 179 (251) beads for this pattern, which really isn't many, so splurge on some really pretty ones. I used beautiful Toho 3x3 cubes that I got at Earth Faire. You can see all the details and purchase the pattern on my website, so go have a look.

Thanks to Shirley Su for modelling, Three Bags Full yarn shop for allowing the picture of their lovely store in the picture and for many, many other things I will not mention, and last but never least, my superb test knitters, Kat and Joanne.

Now, in case you have two skeins of sea silk (like the pictured scarf, in the periwinkle colorway) and are wondering whether you can squeeze a shawl out of your 800 meters of precious yarn, never fear. The shawl is designed for ease of modification: each of the three lace patterns can be repeated more OR fewer times and you will still be in perfect coordination with the next pattern. Keep in mind that your yarn and bead requirements will change... in this case, to accommodate a slightly slim yarn cache, but you could also easily upsize the shawl to a bigger width and length in this way.

Chances are, a KAL on my yahoo group will be starting sometime in the near future. You are welcome to check in with us at SiviaHardingKnits, where a Moonshadow Stole KAL is now in progress.

Now for the un-good news: My dear father is dying. He was moved into a hospice facility today where he lives, far away from where I live. I cannot travel to him at this time for multiple very good reasons, and this is very painful. My family, who are all gathered at his bedside, has forgiven me and continues to forgive me, for which I am so grateful. I have been preoccupied with all the things that happen to you when a dear family member is on the verge of passing - an enormous amount of prayer, emotion, and grief has been pouring out of me. I comfort myself with the knowledge that my dad will have a peaceful passing, surrounded by love and proof of his lifelong goodness. Really, who could ask for more?

I love you and always will, Dad. This one's for you.

Periwinkle Forest

I finished and blocked the Norwegian Woods scarf last night. Even though she is still damp and pinned, I had to show her to you in all of her beauty.



Periwinkle sea silk... mmm, yeah. The scarf took about 470 yards, which makes it perfect for one skein of malabrigo lace, but unfortunately just slightly over one 100 yd skein of sea silk. For beads, I used size 8/0 silver lined crystal triangles from Earth Faire. The pattern is mine... to be released sometime in the very near future.

No Sheep for Me

Last Monday I showed up at Three Bags Full to teach a lace class and what did I see????



Be warned... this is going to be a shameless plug for the new book, No Sheep for You by Amy Singer, just out from Interweave Press.

If you haven't yet heard about it, this book is a compendium of gorgeous projects, none of which contain wool or animal fibers. Which leaves... let's see... silk, cotton, bamboo, linen, soy, tencel, and probably lots more that I am forgetting. Glorious stuff, right? Right.

I happen to have a piece in this book, the River Rock Scarf. The pictures below won't be in the same colorway or have the same beads, but I hope you can get a good idea.





Yarn: Silken by Handmaiden. Beads: 6/0 Matte silver lined gold beads. Design: My own.

This design is based on a simple 2x2 rib with a little lace openwork at the edges. The scarf is meant to be like a freely running river with beads simulating the little rocks that interrupt the stream from time to time. It is freeform in that you can place your "rocks" anywhere you please, and put in as many as you like. For those who like to follow a pattern, I have included a plan that will give you rocks just like the one pictured in the book (which will be different from this one...every one I have made has been quite different from the others. Lots of room to play in this design!)

River Rock Scarf. In the book, No Sheep for You. Play in your river...