Design & Dash!

Hi! I'm Alyson, and I was delighted to design the "extra" that was included in the March shipment, the Ribs & Seeds pattern. These little drive-by posts (zoom!) are a great way for me to say hi, and to thank you all and Roxanne for giving me the opportunity to play and create along with you! I hope you like the pattern design - I'd been wanting for a while to do a cabled design on the back of a sock, and lately I've been kind of fixated on the look and feel of seed stitch. I don't normally do "resolutions" each year, we did decide at the first of the year, when evaluating our budget, to start eating out way less. In rediscovering how much I love cooking, I've been looking at tons of recipes - and since I like a little spice in my dishes, I use quite a few recipes that call for hot peppers. When I saw the phrase "ribs and seeds removed", I had a little revelation: Ribs! Seeds! Seeds...cables...ribs...seeded cables...seed rib...ha! Some of my favourite elements, all put together, with heat!

Often my patterns are inspired by something I see, like the cathedral that inspired the Reims stocking pattern, or maybe I'll see a clever stitch pattern that I can adapt or tinker with - this is the first pattern I've designed that came more from an idea, a simple phrase in a recipe, rather than from a visual. I had a lot of fun sketching this one up, and I was also trying to keep in mind something a bit more unisex, something with a little pizzazz but that my husband would wear. Not that he'll necessarily get the ones I made...but that's beside the point, right? It's the thought that counts! ;-)

I never get tired of working with Roxanne's yarns - I know you all love them every bit as much as I do! Thank you, Roxanne, for giving me the chance to work with you and your wonderful rich yarns once again. It's always such a treat!

Happy knitting!