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Amy van de Laar, Knitting Designer

@baroquepurls

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Kiwi designer & music nerd living in Melbourne, Australia 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Finding joy in art & nature, transforming it into stitches ✨
Explore my patterns👇

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Fancy a fun little colourwork project? The folks at John Arbon Textiles have put together mini skein kits for my Braeburn Mitts using their new Appledore DK colours! There are four different colour combos to choose from including this lovely warm trio of Old Fred, Sugar Bush, and Betley Bee Bush. 💛

The yarn kits are available now on their website (jarbon.com), and you can find the Braeburn Mitts pattern on Ravelry and in my Payhip store.

📸 Photo by @jarbontextiles.

#BraeburnMitts #AppledoreDK #JohnArbonTextiles #StrandedKnitting #BaroquePurls by @baroquepurls

I’ve just turned 47, and I’m celebrating with a sale on a selection of my patterns (and a nice Indian takeaway this evening)! I’ve been enjoying the spring weather in New Zealand where I recently visited my family, and also back here in Melbourne, and so I decided to put together a bundle of patterns which give me spring vibes - and to keep things hemisphere-inclusive, I added an autumnal set too. I hope they spark your inspiration!

Enjoy 30% off the selected patterns in my Birthday Sale Ravelry bundle and Payhip collection using the code SPRINGFALL at checkout before midnight on Friday 16 October. Links to the bundle & collection are in my bio. 💛

Slide 1 shows my spring picks, clockwise from top left: Beanstalk Shawl, Silverwing, Parterre Scarf, and Greenery Mitts.

And Slide 2 shows my autumn/fall picks, clockwise from top left: Beeswax Shawl, Melisma Hat, Herb Garden Hat, and Braeburn Mitts. by @baroquepurls

A few pics from my recent trip to Whakatāne to see my family, featuring the obligatory fish & chips feast and a couple of spring garden highlights. 🌿 by @baroquepurls

I have a finished knit to share! I was inspired to make a vest after trying on a sweater WIP last winter and liking the way it looked without sleeves. I settled on a vest pattern I liked the look of, with deeper armholes and a nice relaxed vibe: Canyon by @jaqcieslak. I knit a size 46” (the pattern goes up to 64”) with size B bust darts. The darts are cleverly incorporated at the hem, making them invisible when worn.

For my main yarn I used the now-discontinued Superstar Sport from @vintage_purls in a beautiful rusty-leaning dark red called Hesperian. I ended up a little short, and so I added a contrasting colour for the armhole ribbing and neck finishing, using a complex purplish colour called Warm Earth in BFL DK from @louielolayarns.

I’m very pleased with how my vest turned out! And thank you Dad for the photos. 💕

#FOFriday #CanyonVest #SculthorpePants #ProjectComfortable by @baroquepurls

My latest just-for me project is a stripy cardigan worked sideways, and it’s a milestone for me as it’s my very first crocheted sweater. I actually learned to crochet before I learned to knit, but I’m much more experienced with knitting! The pattern I’m using is MIO by Maysa Tomikawa (@m_moos), and I was especially inspired by the stripy scrap-yarn sample. There’s also a knit version of the pattern available.

I now have two differently-shaped sleeve pieces, because I discovered after finishing the first sleeve that my stitch count was way off with 32 stitches short. I eventually worked out that I’d been working the end of each row wrong, having misunderstood working into the top of the turning chain in the row below. Shoutout to the excellent drawings and explanations of stitch anatomy in Jane Crowfoot’s ‘The Complete Crochet Handbook’, which put me right!

My issue was not at all a problem with the pattern, just me not knowing what I don’t know, having mostly done crochet projects worked in the round in the past. My second attempt is looking much better, and I’m really loving the texture and the colours. ☺️

Image description: two sleeve pieces in stripy double crochet, with different angles at the ends of the rows showing the difference in shaping. by @baroquepurls

This is another recent gift knit - a baby hat in a very pleasing blend of sock yarn held double. I was watching @emtothethird’s fun (and a little spicy!) video on YouTube ranking the top favourited patterns on Ravelry, and had to pause and queue the Berry Baby Hat pattern immediately. I’d been thinking of knitting a wee hat for my partner’s lovely cousin’s new baby, and this was the nudge I needed.

Pattern: Berry Baby Hat by Michele Sabatier
Yarn: Wren & Ollie Sock in Peach Pistachio held double with Vintage Purls Sock in Ulla, and Circus Tonic Handmade Soiree Fingering in Olive Backed Oriole held double (all leftovers from stash)

#GiftKnitting #KnittingFromStash #BabyKnits #FOFriday by @baroquepurls

Now that it’s been gifted I can show off this long cowl I knit recently for my MIL. I adore the cable-and-eyelet texture and it was very satisfying to knit! 💛

Pattern: Bay Road Cowl by Bonnie Sennott @bluepeninsula
Yarn: Knitcraft & Knittery Fingering Weight Merino (discontinued, from stash)

The only difficulty I had with this project was unzipping the crochet chain provisional cast on before joining the ends together - I had to gradually unpick each chain stitch which was fiddly and time-consuming. This was 100% my own error and nothing to do with the excellent pattern btw - I must have messed up while picking up stitches at the beginning, maybe by picking up from the wrong part of the chain. Sometimes these things happen with techniques I only use very occasionally! Note to self for next time: test the cast on with a small swatch first to make sure it’s going to work.

#GiftKnitting #KnittingFromStash #CableKnitting #FOFriday by @baroquepurls

One of my favourite spots in the botanical gardens is Ferntree Gully, which is a magical shady refuge. We took a rest on a bench and admired the trees and ferns and sounds of the creek. 🌿 by @baroquepurls

We managed to catch some of the last of the summer’s waterlilies and lotuses at the botanical gardens over the weekend. So magical! 🪷 by @baroquepurls

Meri kirihimete / Merry Christmas friends! Wishing you all a peaceful end to the year. ❤️ by @baroquepurls

Hello Wellington, it’s nice to see you again! I have one day to chill here before heading up to my parents’ place for Christmas in Whakatāne, and the weather was perfect for a leisurely stroll to brunch this morning. ☀️ by @baroquepurls

These little violas are the stars of our balcony garden right now. They’re especially pretty in this early evening sun. 🪴 by @baroquepurls