Soliloquy - Our New Indie Pattern With Ruth Werwai

Welcome, to our brand new pattern! In case you missed it, we are excited to be releasing some individual patterns alongside our books and magazines and I am so happy to share the first pattern in this series with you today.

Meet Soliloquy, a crescent-shaped shawl featuring alternating panels of garter stitch, eyelets and lace which make for a simple, yet engaging knit. The lace is easy to memorize but interesting to knit, and the picot edging adds a little something sweet to finish off. Perfect for an early morning beach walk or an evening on the dock, Soliloquy adds that extra bit of warmth to lighthearted summer days or to those transitional between-season times when an extra layer comes in handy.

Soliloquy is knit with The Fibre Co.'s Canopy Fingering in the colourway Love in a Mist, that perfect shade of seaside summertime blue. Canopy is the ideal yarn for shawl knitting. With its balanced blend of baby alpaca, Merino wool and viscose from bamboo; it is light yet cosy, and has the perfect amount of drape. You can read more about Canopy and see the colour selection here.

To celebrate the release, we thought it would be fun to have a little chat with the designer behind Soliloquy, Ruth Werwai.

Q & A With Ruth

Tell us a little about yourself!

My name is Ruth, and I'm a mama & maker originally from the West Coast of Canada but now living in Marburg, Germany with my family. I'm a textbook Introvert, an Enneagram 4 and about as Hufflepuff as you can get- my Patronus is a Badger! I would describe myself as a dedicated life long learner, a bookworm and a terrible speller.

How long have you been knitting and designing?

I picked up knitting seriously almost 7 years ago when I first moved here and was in search of a creative pursuit to balance out long days of learning a new language and navigating life away from home. I started a blog called Raincloud & Sage and everything just kind of evolved from there. Over the years I have (with varying levels of success) sold hand knit items on Etsy, published a small collection of knitwear designs, worked as a freelancer & blogger in the knitting industry and most recently, started a small yarn company which produces sustainable yarns for makers from wool which would otherwise be thrown away (also confusingly, called Raincloud & Sage). I'm already convinced that I will be a lifelong knitter and am so grateful to have discovered the fibre arts along my creative journey.

Tell us about designing Soliloquy. What inspired you?

For Soliloquy I was most definitely inspired by the ocean. More specifically, I wanted to create a shawl that would be light, breezy and effortless to both make and wear, just like the best kind of day by the sea. I grew up very close to some beautiful beaches and for the paneling and lace in the shawl, was definitely inspired by the rough waves and rocky shores of some of the more wild beaches I've visited in BC.

Do you have a favourite type of knitting project?

At this point it's sweaters- preferably in a good sheepy, rustic, woolen-spun yarn. I've also recently started knitting sweaters for my husband and son (something I was rather nervous to do) and I'm finding so much joy in that!

What is your favourite making tool?

I'm actually a bit obsessed with tools but I'd say right now my most used tools are my Lykke interchangeable needles and my Yllep ball winder. I put off both of these purchases for ages, but I must say they've been such worthwhile investments to increase the ease in my making process.

What do you do when you knit - watch a movie, read a book, nothing, ...?

I do most of my knitting in the evenings, sometimes while watching a movie or favorite show with my husband. Recently I also discovered how to read and knit at the same time and it kinda makes me feel like I have superpowers. It's also meant that I have a bit more knitting time than I used to, since I am always trying to balance my time between these two favorite hobbies. I love audio podcasts and often will listen to one while knitting on something that needs my full visual attention. A few recent favorites include: Going Through It (which I binge listened to in a week), the Seeing White Series from Scene on Radio and On the Make by Josephine Brooks for all things creative small business.

How can we find you?

These days I'm most active over on the Raincloud & Sage Instagram account (@raincloudandsage) though I do still pop into my previous account now and then. You'll also find all there is to know about R&S Yarn via our website: raincloudandsage.com which is where we host both our shop & blog as well as our email newsletter sign up.