Welcome to my new home on the net! You may be may be familiar with me under my former business name of Sweet Mama – Small Sugar, but for those who are not, please let me introduce myself. I began SMSS in 2006 as a handmade baby boutique specializing in knit heirloom layettes, original applique designs, and boutique baby garments (you can still see some of my favorite work here on Flickr). For years it was my honor and privilege to create custom sets for some of the kindest and most generous customers one could wish for. To this day I continue to call many of them friends. As my life and business evolved, and I continued to follow its path, I realized my true passion was for design rather than construction and for more for knitting than sewing. In 2010 I moved solely to knitwear pattern design and it soon became clear that I had outgrown Sweet Mama – Small Sugar as a name for my business. So, it is with a bittersweet sentiment that I close the door on that chapter of my life and open this new one with a new name, a fresh look, and (maybe too many) exciting plans for the future!
Over the next few weeks all of my patterns that were self-published under the SMSS name will be updated with the new look. This has given me a chance to add some fun options to some of them and fix errata if necessary. Updates will be distributed automatically through Ravelry’s system.
I will use this blog to share insight about my design process, works in progress, and tutorials and occasionally more personally with posts about family life, recipes, and projects to do with the kids. And with that in mind, allow me to introduce you to my newest yarnbaby, Dovetail. This reversible textured cowl was inspired completely by my overwhelming desire to wrap myself up in this kitten-soft, curry colored alpaca yarn. I found these skeins while visiting Klose Knit in Urbana, Illinois. Unlike other alpaca yarns, the long fibers in Royal Alpaca have been removed making it far less “sheddy” while maintaining the softness and warmth alpaca is loved for. It is next-to-skin soft and a complete joy to knit and wear. Also, did you see the color palatte?? This will definitely not be the last time you’ll see me using this yarn in a design. I am a forever fan.
