Quite a busy holiday here at Littletheorem HQ! My "real job" is working 3 days part time as a Maths teacher, and I look after my 3 year old for one and a half days, so really there's only Wednesday mornings and evenings and weekends for working on knitting pattern design. So I definitely make use of the holidays for catching up on business admin tasks that fall by the wayside.

I've just finished reading "How to get to the top of Google" and it was a bit alarming really how badly set up my website was, so I've been doing a lot of fiddling around behind the scenes to try to fix some aspects of that. Mainly trying to add more content. I've souped up the main landing page a bit - let me know what you think in the comments! Trying to add more in depth content to my blog too. Last week I wrote a big post analysing trends in knitting patterns, and I'm hoping to make that a regular feature. I also haven't added anything to Lovecrafts for a loooong time, so I've been slowly but surely adding patterns to the Lovecrafts Littletheorem site.

Don't think for a minute that I haven't had time for any knitting though!

I've been working on a saddle shoulder cardigan in gorgeous Malabrigo Rios. Colourway is "Almond Blossom", I think it's a bit of a brighter/darker pink than the yarn looks on the Malabrigo Website but it's still very pretty indeed. Loving how it looks so far, it's mainly 2x1 slip stitch twised rib with big lace panels. I like how the twisted ribbing looks like fake brioche stitch. It's the first time I've tried doing a saddle shoulder, I think it'll look nice having the lace pattern running all the way from the neckline down the sleeves. The only issue is the attached shawl collar is rolling more than I'd though. My swatch lay perfectly flat! But here we are. I'll just pick up and knit a bit of ribbing around the front, and fingers crossed it'll be just fine!

My Brocken Sweater is finished too! Here it is in a bump pic - you can see why I'm knitting a lot of open fronted cardigans at the moment!

This should hopefully be available as a test knit in the next few weeks, so keep an eye on my Instagram or Twitter if you're interested in test knitting!

My big news of the week - I've started a test knit for my latest design, Auldhouse Sweater!

It's a super simple, slightly cropped sweater with a gorgeous lace pattern. Super quick to knit in chunky yarn.
We work from the top down using a simple construction. We cast on stitches at the shoulder and, after a little short row shaping, work down the back to the underarm, shaping for armholes. Stitches are picked up at each shoulder and worked down the front to the underarm, shaping the neckline and armholes as we go. All stitches are joined in the round and worked straight down to the hem, working a simple but stunning lace pattern and delicate twisted ribbing. We pick up stitches round each armhole for the sleeves and work them in the round to the cuff. Finally, stitches are picked up round the neckline and worked in twisted ribbing. We recommend this sweater is worn with 15 cm/6” positive ease at the chest.
I normally name patterns for places I’ve visited recently – in the past it was usually mountains I’d climbed in my last adventure. Now at six months pregnant, my patterns are being named after places closer to home. Auldhouse is just down the road from my house and the location of a fantastic toddler group – how times change!

You can find out more and volunteer to test knit in my Ravelry Group, there's still plenty of sizes left! And if you don't use Ravelry, you can drop me an email at contact "at" littletheorem "dot" co "dot" uk to test via email.

Here's the latest progress on my Brocken Cardigan too:

All of the body and one sleeve are done, cannot wait for this to be finished! Just a second sleeve and a band of ribbing round the front to go. It's soooo soft and cosy, the ya​rn is Eden Cottage Yarns Titus Fingering (merino and silk) held together with Lowther Lace (suri alpaca and silk), super luxurious!

And finally, here's a bump pic for the week! 

This is my An Dùbhlachd Cardigan – very fitting for the time of year, An Dùbhlachd is Scottish Gaelic for December. In Irish Gaelic it’s Mí na Nollag, or Christmas Month, but in Scotland it literally translates into “The Blackness”. Perfectly descriptive for how dark it is at this time of year. With how far North we are and all the rain that sweeps in off the Atlantic there’s certainly very little natural light here. My studio lighting certainly comes in handy – I’d be able to take about three photos indoors from October to March without it!
 
The cardi itself is a big cosy wrap, mainly in garter stitch with some lace detail in the body, perfect for winter wear. The yarn is Black Elephant yarns dk in colourway “Charcoal” it’s a lovely workhorse yarn in gorgeous handdyed colours. It’s a really warm black if that makes any sense, with undertones of purple. 

We’ve put up the tree, made the first batch of mince pies and had the first snowfall of winter. Pollok Park in Glasgow was looking particularly spectacular in winter conditions. Pollok Park is an amazing place - there's an award winning museum and art gallery, a beautiful stately home with gardens, miles of paths through the woodland, cafes, a farmer's market every month, and even a herd of Highland Cows. All free to access, and literally over the road from my house! 
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We’re so lucky to live in a big city with all the benefits that come with it, and also have a huge country park literally across the road. Best of both worlds for sure!

And here’s a bump pic for this week too, this week I’m sporting my Burrell Sweater. It’s a lovely comfy oversized sweater perfect for cosy winter wear when the snow’s falling! I was a bit sceptical about oversized, cropped sweaters initially but I’m a huge convert. I knitted my first one – Tentsmuir Sweater when I was postpartum with my preschooler and genuinely it was the most flattering sweater ever. 

Now for the knitting news! ​This week I’ve been chipping away at my latest cardi with Eden Cottage Yarns Lowther Lace and Titus 4ply. I finally got the shoulders finished - normally I’m quite good at sneaking in a bit of mindless knitting here and there, but it’s much tricker when you actually need to focus! The lace here is a little fiddly and the increases at the inner edges of the fronts and for the armhole shaping made it even spicier. I do love knitting lace, but I'm definitely enjoying how fast the stocking stitch section is now!

From the back, you can see the zigzag transition from the lace a bit more clearly. I’m thinking about calling this pattern Brocken Spectre. It’s an optical illusion you see in the mist sometimes at the top of a mountain. It’s just your shadow really but it looks like a figure in the fog. I was thinking that the zigzag at the top of the stocking stitch with the airy lace on top looked like mist on the mountaintops. Let me know what you think!

My Garabato Cowl pattern is live! It's a mohair silk cowl with an unusual and beautiful stitch pattern. Measuring 38 cm x 140 cm/15” x 55”, so big enough to wrap around twice, using less than 50g of yarn, making this super quick to knit – perfect for gifting! For those of you reading this as it's hot off the press - there's a 50% coupon code valid until midnight on 10th April 2023 - it's GARABATO50.

I knit this up for my sister for her 40th birthday, I'm so lucky to have so many family and friends who like to receive handknitted gifts. I've been really loving lace mohair recently - I absolutely fell in love with the stitch in my Liathach Cowl and I'm planning a cardigan with a similar stitch pattern. I'm going to knit an oversized cropped version of my Dairsie Sweater with laceweight mohair and some 4ply silk yarn from The Urban Purl, hopefully to be released this Autumn. 

In case anyone's interested, here's the gritty details!
Suggested Yarn: Black Elephant Yarn Lace Mohair (72% mohair, 28% silk) 420 m/460 yds per 50g skein.
Colourway: Silver Lining
Meterage: 336 m
 Yardage: 368 yds
 Dimensions (Metric):
38 cm x 140 cm
 Dimensions (Imperial):
15” x 55”
Needles: 5 mm/US 8 80 cm/32” circular needle or as required to achieve gauge. We recommend sharp lace needles if using laceweight mohair.
 Gauge: 11 sts and 20 rows = 10 cm/4” with 5 mm/US 8 needle in garter stitch after blocking
 Extras: Tapestry needle for weaving in loose ends, marker for end of rnd, blocking wires, pins and blocking board for finishing

I've got a few test knits running at the moment too with spaces spare. On the left is my Dairsie Aran Cardigan and in the middle is my Pollokshaws. They're running in my Ravelry Group at the moment, but if you can't use Ravelry then click the contact button on my homepage to get in touch. On the far right is my Pollokshaws Cardigan which is coming soon, should hopefully be up to test this week sometime. Keep an eye on my instagram to find out when!

And on the needles this week is my Spring Snowfall Sweater. I'm absolutely loving knitting this up. Narrow twisted cables on  reverse stocking stitch just look fab in my opinion. Love how well they pop against the background. And the yarn from Black Elephant is just sublime! It's their Winter Fade in DK yarn and I am in love!!