About

our knit studio

Our Knit Studio

Welcome to Impeccable Knits

In the beautiful Annapolis region of Nova Scotia, Canada, Impeccable Knits  abides in an early 1800′s homestead nestled among lakes, trees and dragonflies (we won’t mention the bears!). Here I knit, crochet, sew, quilt and play with fibre. Happiness abounds!!


Our Labels are changing in 2012…
For the past five years, we have been publishing under three pattern labels:

South Mountain ~ Naturally , Cranberry Ocean Knits  and PurpleSage Designs .  In 2012, all of these labels will be migrated to the new Impeccable Knits label and all patterns will be given a facelift!

As 2012 is dawning, it’s time for some reorganization ~ we’re so excited! All of my patterns will now be gradually combined under the **Impeccable Knits** label. The migration will take a little time so you’ll still see the old labels for a while. I’ll send out update notices as patterns are re-published. Over the next few months, all of my [South Mountain ~ Naturally][1], [PurpleSage Designs][2] and [Cranberry Ocean Knits][3] patterns will be republished under this new label.

Our entire pattern catalog will be reviewed and some of the patterns will be getting a major re-work as part of this migration process – including all new charts using professional software. This major time investment to improve our line will mean that the cost of some of our patterns will go up minimally — but you will love the final product all the more.  Thanks for bearing with us :)

Yarns

We love natural and/or organic yarns or blends (blends — because some natural fibres need a little help to serve us well) and many of our designs are focused on these ~

~ Bamboo ~ Cotton ~ Linen ~ Organic Cotton ~ Silk ~ Soy ~ Wool ~ Fibre Blends

When it comes to children’s pattern, though, we do understand the practicality of some of the manufactured fibres and try of offer a good balance.

Find me on Ravelry.com as impeccableknits.


Pattern Purchases and Downloads
All patterns are in pdf format and are available online, sold through Impeccable Knits on Ravelry.com.

The Pattern Icons in the sidebar will lead you to each pattern’s Ravelry pattern information page which will give you all the details about the pattern and an opportunity to buy if you wish. 

All prices are in USD and are processed using PayPal.

Selected patterns are also available on Knit Picks.com and Craftsy.com.

If you prefer, we also have a Canadian purchasing option through Patternfish.com.

Questions or comments? Find us at info@impeccableknits.ca 

You can also find our entire pattern catalog on our website: www.impeccableknits.ca

14 Comments to “About”

    
  1. F. Holliday
    March 26, 2010 at 11:12 am

    Hello,

    I am inquiring about the pattern, Night on the Town Scarf. I love the scarf but would like to make the width smaller than 8″, perhaps 5 or 6 inches wide. What is the multiple? That way I can adjust accordingly.

    PS-Since there are so many spammers, when replying please write in the subject “Herringbone scarf inquiry”. That way I’ll know not to delete it.

    Thanks.

  2. purplesage
    March 26, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    Hi there,
    I emailed this to you as well, but thought I’d put my reply here too so other can see:

    “I’m so glad you like the scarf.

    The Herringbone stitch pattern is a 7+1 repeat, so for the pattern as written, I used 5 repeats of 7 sts = 35 sts + 1 = 36; then I added the 4 edge stitches to get 40 cast on sts.

    How many stitches to cast on for a narrower scarf will depend on the yarn you are using. If using a worsted weight yarn like I did in my sample, I would try either 3 or 4 pattern repeats:
    3 repeats = 3 x 7sts = 21sts + 1 = 22sts plus any edge stitches you wish to add
    4 repeats = 4 x 7sts = 28sts + 1 = 29sts plus any edge stitches you wish to add

    Hope that helps.”

  3. SHERYL ANN
    February 13, 2011 at 11:55 pm

    I AM KNITTING THE WOOLLY MAMMOTH SCARF STITCH. I AM HAVING A PROBLEM WITH THE ENDS CURLING THEY ARE NOT LAYING FLAT. I NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE AND IT IS BUGGING ME. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG. I AM USING 101/2 NEEDLES AND WORSTED YARN. I NEED HELP ASAP. THANKS

  4. PurpleSage
    February 14, 2011 at 11:22 am

    Hi,
    There are so many things that can cause a scarf to curl (scarves are notorious for this just because they are long and skinny).

    The main culprit is usually the stitch pattern but because this one has a balance of knits and purls it is less likely. Although, now that I think of it, since there are slipped stitches involved in this pattern, make sure you’re not pulling the yarn too tightly as you work the next stitch. If the yarn lying behind that slipped stitches too tight, that will definitely create a fabric that is shorter across the back and it will want to curl that way.

    Since I’ve already typed the following, I’ll leave the information here anyway :) just in case the above doesn’t solve your issue.

    The second cause can be the yarn you’re using. The way yarns and spun and twisted can cause the work to curl as well. If you’re working with a natural fibre, this issue might (and I really mean only might) be fixed by blocking the scarf. You can try blocking it while your work is still on the needles and see if that helps. If you are working with an acrylic — hmm, I know some people say they can block acrylic but I’m no authority on that so I can’t really advise.

    The other thing that comes to mind is that sometimes personal knitting style – e.g. if you always twist your knit stitches – can have an effect but since you say you’ve never had this issue before, I don’t believe that is the case here.

    If blocking doesn’t solve the problem, you could try adding a few (maybe 3) garter sts at each edge to see if that solves the issue. It will give the scarf a different look but may keep that curl under control.

    Best of luck. Luise

  5. Kella
    July 12, 2011 at 10:44 am

    Hi,
    There is a beautiful red scarf on the left hand top of page of the Red Scarf Project fund raiser page.

    http://nownormaknits2.typepad.com/red_scarf_project_2008/

    I was wondering if you are able to tell me what the pattern is please or a rough guess. I am a medium knitter, just trying some different stitches. I have knitted a lovely powder blue baby alpaca cardigan and want to knit a scat with the left over balls. So I was looking for a pattern similar to the one I have mentioned above.

    By the way, I think it is very generous of you to share your knowledge. If you can’t help me with the pattern, I will go ahead and do the Mammoth woolly one.
    Thanks,
    K :-)

  6. PurpleSage
    July 12, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Hi Kella,
    My best advice regarding that red scarf would be to look through some stitch dictionaries and see if you can find that particular stitch. If you don’t own any yourself, a local library is a great source. The other place you could try is the Knitting Fool website — she has a lot of illustrated stitches with directions; maybe something along the line of her Mock Brioche or Welted Rib?
    Hope that’s helpful :) Luise

  7. Kella
    July 18, 2011 at 6:48 am

    Thanks very much Luise. Will do.

    I have another question unrelated if I may. I am knitting a cardigan (from 4 ply baby alpaca in a powder blue. Very nice). The knitting pattern is from the late 60′s/early 70′s. It has all gone well other than my trouble shaping the front slopes (as opposed to the arm holes). My arm hole decreases and edge look great, but the front slopes look messy on the slope. Is there a technique that will give me a nice edge on the front slopes? I can’t seem to find anything about the knitting term “slope” or technique on the net. Maybe it is an old fashion term?

    The pattern says to decrease every 6th row for slope and every alt row for arm holes, but is not specific how to do so for the slope.
    For the first decrease on the Right slope, the pattern uses K2tog
    But for the Left slope, since the RS of the work ends with the slope as the last few stitches of that row, when I knit 2 together at the end of the row, it is not as neat as at the beginning of a row. (hope that makes sense)
    Any advice?
    I think it really needs to be neat for me to sew the button hole bands on and have it look good at the front.
    Regards,
    Kella

  8. PurpleSage
    July 18, 2011 at 10:35 am

    Hi Kella,
    It’s always hard to tell from a distance, but I can give you a couple of suggestions and you can see if they’re helpful. The first is to do with where the decrease is placed and the other with the kind of decrease you are using.

    1. When I do decreased on an edge (other than casting off stitches) I always make the decreases 1 or 2 stitches in from the edge. That way the remaining 1 or 2 stitches keep being worked up along the edge and remain constant. So, for example, in working the Left front V-neck (which I’m assuming they refer to as ‘slope’) of a sweater, I would work up to the last 3 sts (or last 4 sts) at the neck edge, work the decrease (k2tog in this case — see #2 below), and then knit the last 1 (or 2) sts. For the Right front, I would k1 (or k2), work the decrease (ssk or skp in this case – see #2 below), and then continue to the end of the row.

    2. Stitches worked into a decrease slant a certain way. For example, a k2tog will have the stitches slant slightly to the top right. The match this type of a decrease on the opposite side of a neckline, the decreases should be made using either an ssk demonstrated on YouTube (slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 knitwise, insert the left needle tip into the front of those 2 slipped stitches and knit the two stitches together) or skp or s1k1psso(slip 1 stitch knitwise, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch).

    I hope that helps a little.

    Cheers,
    Luise

  9. Kella
    July 18, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    Thanks so much for taking the time to explain that to me. It absolutely helps.

    It makes perfect sense that different decreases slant different ways. But i hadn’t thought of that and I didn’t know which one slants which way either. I will undo both front pieces of my cardigan before the slope starts on either and hopefully finish with a better edge with your tips.
    I’ll let you know how it goes. Can’t wait to get it finished. (I have undone the front pieces twice already and tried different stitches lol)
    Anyway, thanks again.
    Regards,
    kella

  10. PurpleSage
    July 18, 2011 at 1:18 pm

    You’re very welcome, Kella. Glad I could help. Should maybe also mention that some people like to have the decreases slanting the other way i.e. toward the middle. Just comes down to personal preference at that point. I’m sure you’ll love the sweater when it’s done!!
    Cheers,
    Luise

  11. Judi Burnes
    July 22, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    Hi, I’m enjoying your web site and the patterns very much!! I have what is probably a silly question about the Night on the Town scarf. You have woderful directions for the “linc^” stitch and I’m wondering if the plain “linc” stitch is the same. I’ve given up taking knitting stitches for granted. Thanks so much for whatever help you can give me.
    Judi

  12. PurpleSage
    July 22, 2011 at 7:14 pm

    Hi Judi,
    It’s so hard to tell. I know what you mean about not taking anything for granted.

    Some designers pick the stitch up differently or twist it a different way to get a certain effect. The best to hope for is a good description in the abbreviations section of a pattern :)

    All that being said, the only problem I’ve run into was a pattern where the increase and the stitch below which this increase is worked were treated as one stitch — a different approach which can really throw a kink in your stitch count if you take the meaning of the abbreviation for granted and don’t check the designer’s notes — so there you go!

    Probably not very helpful — sorry!

    The nice thing these days is that designers are so much more available for feedback that if you have a question about a pattern stitch and how it’s worked, many times the designer can help out — or certainly someone on Ravelry will have the answer – lol. ~ Luise

  13. Marlene
    March 29, 2012 at 7:18 am

    Do you have a shop in that lovely house in Annapolis Valley?

  14. impeccableknits
    March 29, 2012 at 9:29 am

    Hi Marlene,
    No, sorry, no shop — our knitting patterns are sold almost exclusively online (via Ravelry (US-based), KnitPicks (US-based), Patternfish (Canadian) and Craftsy (US-based)).

    We are in the process of migrating all of our patterns to our new Impeccable Knits label and our new website http://www.impeccableknits.ca (all sales there are via Ravelry’s shopping cart system). I do believe that Brenda up at Gaspereau Valley Fibres in Wolfville carries a few of my patterns (stock varies).

    Thanks for stopping by! If I can help at all, do let me know :)
    Luise

    

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