It's official....

Stitches with Style, our LYS here in Newark, DE, will be hosting festivities for WWKIP Day! Hope to see lots of you there again this year, and to meet new faces, too!! The fun starts at 10:30am and lasts til 4pm.

Yay!! Thanks Linda!

All you knitters and crocheters, mark your calendars!

Remember World Wide Knit in Public Day from last year? Remember, fellow Newark Delawareans, how much fun it was to gather at Stitches with Style and share projects with friends (and make new friends!), and then to converge on McGlynn's for lunch?

Well, mark your calendars because WWKIP Day is back! And.... the updated website states clearly that WWKIP Day is always the second Saturday in June. So June 14th it is (who's bringing the cake, my birthday is the very next day!?).

My calendar is marked; luckily I am not applying to any craft shows for that weekend so I'll be where ever the party is! Stay tuned; as details (such as whether Stitches will host again this year) become available, I will share them here.

Free-style crochet

I have embarked on a new and interesting journey... free-style crochet. There is no pattern, not even in my head, for this new project. Just the ultimate goal of having a shawl/wrap. Each row I figure out a different crochet stitch to use. I want it to have a nice combination of solidity with airy openness.

It began with a ball of Plymouth Yarns Eros, a pretty ladder ribbon yarn in blues/greens which was a free gift at the WWKIP Day last month. I attempted to create a poncho with this yarn using the pattern that was gifted with it. However, I had a doozy of a time trying to knit with this ribbon, I guess because the pattern called for quite a few yarn overs, and it's difficult enough to knit in the proper places with the ladder, let alone with several loops of it all smooshed together on the needles.

So I thought, "Self, why don't you see if you can crochet with it?" And since crochet uses up more yarn than knit, I thought it would be a good idea to add other yarns to the mix. And so my cool colors free-style wrap was born. I added minty green Filtes SAS Kim yarn and some royal blue shiny cord/ribbon yarn (not sure what it is; it was an unlabeled part of the stash gifted to our knitting group). The contrast of colors is really pretty neat, and I'm pleased so far, but I won't be able to tell if it's really worked out until I'm done.

So far it's 53" -- which is just about as long as I'd hoped. I began with the green, then went into Eros, and just now started a row (or two, who knows?) of the royal blue. This is how it looks so far:

W.W.K.I.P. Day was a (FUN!) success!

First, thank you all who participated in our first-ever W.W.K.I.P. Day event here in Newark, DE, and thank you to Stitches with Style, our LYS (local yarn store) who sponsored the event. It was a resounding success! Somewhere around 50 people were in attendance, both at Stitches with Style, and at McGlynn's Pub.

When I arrived at Stitches with Style around 10:30, I discovered 15 or so knitters already there, comfortably knitting around the table and on the couch. There was yarn shopping going on as well (nearly impossible to avoid, no?). Linda (the owner of Stitches) had sweet little blue tote bags printed especially for the occasion, and had stuffed them with lots of little goodies.

We moved to McGlynn's around 11:30 for the official start (and the knitting in public). The smell of popcorn greeted us at the door, and followed us to our section -- 5 tables full of knitters! There were 6 of us knitting at our table, and someone (a knitter) who simply happened to be out to lunch came over to our table to ooh and aah over our projects.

The surprise came when after lunch, many knitters moved back over to Stitches to continue knitting! Once you get started, it can be hard to stop! As a matter of fact, I got so caught up in knitting and talking to other knitters, that I forgot all about my camera and taking pictures.

I finally caved in and bought two skeins of Skacel Sofa yarn in soft pink with yellow eyelash. It's a super-thick chenille; very soft and warm. I think I'm going to try to make an open, airy wrap for myself for the winter since I'm always cold. I'll keep you posted.

Teeny tiny yellow, green, and pink bikini!

Now that I feel as though I have the socks under control (somewhat anyway), I have a new project to share. My newest project is a string bikini crocheted of Katia Jamaica yarn.
I found this 100% cotton yarn at Stitches with Style (who just happens to be the sponsor for the Newark, DE meeting of WWKIP Day knitters TOMORROW!!!).


Katia Jamaica is a variegated color yarn; the one I chose goes from fluorescent yellow to kelly green to carnation to fuchsia, and back again. The perfect combo for a "look at me" type of bikini, I thought. For a 100% cotton yarn, which I always find a bit rough, this is very very soft (kinda necessary for a bikini). It is about 10-stranded, though, so is prone to splitting.

Take a look at the bottom so far (it's upside down; sorry). It is crocheted from back to front. I think it will take about 1.5 balls of Jamaica, and then I plan to use the rest of the yarn to crochet a little sarong-style cover-up to go with it.


One question I seem to be getting a lot in reference to this project is whether or not I'm going to line it. What do you think? To line, or not to line? Let me know!

Socks continued

The saga of the pair of blue gift socks continues. Last night, as we do every Tuesday night, the Newark Knitters met in Central Perk on Main Street to talk and work on our current projects. I, of course, brought the socks. ReluctantMANGO was there, and thankfully had brought a new book with her called More Sensational Knitted Socks. Between the book and ReluctantMANGO, I was able to complete the heel flap on the first sock and go on to turn the short rows for heel shaping! Not sure how well you can see what I did from the pic... I couldn't find a good way to take the pic!


The book was so awesome and conveniently laid out that I took my coupon from ACMoore's weekly ad and bought it today! Well, I bought the first one, Sensational Knitted Socks. It is written by the same woman, Charlene Schurch, and follows the same format as the one that
ReluctantMANGO brought to our knitting group, just with different sock patterns included. My goal is to complete the heel flap and shaping, using just the book and last night's experience as my guide, before WWKIP Day on Saturday.

In case you've missed all the other not-so-subtle hints and messages I and my fellow knitters have posted, WWKIP Day will take place internationally on June 9th -- this Saturday -- and there is an official meeting spot in Newark, DE! Sponsored by Stitches with Style, a truly superb knitting/yarn store at 16-E Polly Drummond Shopping Center in Newark, knitters from the area are welcome at the store at 10am, and then we'll move to McGlynn's Pub (8 Polly Drummond Shopping Center) at 11:30am for more knitting in public and food, of course! I hope to see you there! Please, come introduce yourself!

World Wide Knit In Public Day mentioned in SPARK!!

Thanks to YarnMama, who contacted Spark Magazine about our w.w.k.i.p.day meeting on June 9th. They published the info here (you need to scroll toward the bottom of the page to read it):
"KNITTERS OF THE WORLD, UNTIE!" I don't know about you, but I want to check out the "Spark 7" that the editors mentioned at the end of her letter. :)

And.... we are official! Yes, our knitting gathering at McGlynn's Pub is listed as an official gathering place on the w.w.k.i.p.day website. Check it out!

In other news, I began a sock the other night, as I swore I would, at our Tuesday night knitting meeting (Central Perk Coffee Shop, Main Street, Newark @ 6:30pm on Tuesday nights. Join us!). Thanks to reluctantMANGO, who was invaluable to the socks' beginning (I confess that she re-cast on for me, after it took an hour for me to cast on so tightly that I couldn't even complete the first row of stitches!). I will post a picture of it as soon as it looks like more than a sketchy circle of stitches on itty-bitty tiny needles!

World Wide Knit In Public Day --- update

I just spoke with Stitches with Style, the yarn store who is sponsoring our gathering on June 9th, and they are preparing a special gift for the first 50 people who arrive for w.w.k.i.p.day. How great is that?! Thanks, Stitches!!

Also, keep an eye on The News Journal; they just agreed to print a mini press release about the event being in Newark this year. I'm not certain yet if it will be online, or in print, or both; I'll get back to you on that fact.

I am getting so excited; I can't wait to see how many knitters show up en-masse! Now the most difficult part will be determining what project to bring! :)

World Wide Knit In Public Day comes to Newark, DE!!

World Wide Knit In Public Day (aka w.w.k.i.p. day) is coming to Newark, and I am soooooo excited!! w.w.k.i.p. day, for those of you who aren't familiar, is a day set aside every year for knitters all over the world to sit outside (or indoor public places) and do what they love best -- knit! Read more w.w.k.i.p. day from the founder here.

This year, for the first time ever, Newark will be on the list of locations for knitters to gather. As a matter of fact, I'm emailing Danielle, the founder of w.w.k.i.p. day, right now! Here are all the details, as I know them so far. Please check back (under the keyword w.w.k.i.p. day) for any updates.

Date: June 9th (Saturday)
Time: meet at Stitches with Style (yarn store - yum!), 16-E Polly Drummond Shopping Center, Newark, DE whenever you arrive (if it's before 11:30am)
At 11:30am, we'll move on over to McGlynn's Pub for the official "knit out." McGlynn's is directly across the parking lot, at 8 Polly Drummond Shopping Center.


A HUGE thank you to Sheryl and Linda at Stitches with Style, and to McGlynn's for making this possible!