New online knitting resources

I've just discovered -- with the help of a few fellow bloggers and the wonderful Stumble! button in Firefox, 3 new knitting sites that I wanted to share.

Knitch - this new (first issue was Winter 2008/2009) online knitting magazine created by Yarnmarket LLC has some promise. There are a handful of free patterns in each issue, along with book reviews, a how-to, and articles on topics ranging from charity knitting to color trends. They also feature a regular poll on their website. The current topic is whether or not knitters are knitting from stash or buying more yarn (me? I'm doing a little of both, leaning more toward stash whenever possible).

Verena Knitting - a new (since summer 2008) knitting magazine out of Europe. So far I like the patterns in this magazine. They offer free patterns on their website (you have to register to access them) and lots of extras for subscribers.

Knotions - this one is my favorite. Much like the Knitch, this site offers free patterns monthly, book and product reviews, and engaging articles. I think what grabs me better with Knotions is the layout. The site is pleasant and easy on the eyes. The site is laid-out in an easy-find fashion; the important stuff jumps out at you. Also the pictures that accompany the patterns are terrific -- bright and crisp and nearly touchable.

Pictures from sheep shearing day

Before ..... And after!! ....

Waiting his turn... impatiently

The actual shearing was about 5 min per sheep. Most didn't even squirm.

Wool, lovely wool!! Or rather, fleece, lovely fleece! This was from just three sheep. There were at least 30 to be shorn!

Strange yarns

Good morning, and happy Monday!!!

I thought this morning I'd share something strange I came across while reading the Lion Brand email newsletter: stainless steel yarn.

Yes, you read that correctly (although you may want to do as I did, and click through the link above to confirm that your eyes are properly interpreting the letters above). This yarn is 75% wool and 25% STAINLESS STEEL.

I wonder how soft that is? Is there any real drape to steel? Does it relax/soften more with washing? Or with insertion into a VERY HOT FURNACE??? LOL

Actually, it got me to wondering about other strange materials used for yarns. Here are some I've found (each with a few brand examples), some stranger than others:

possum (there were several, I just picked one)
milk (tell me, do your projects curdle if not refrigerated?)
newspaper (this one you can spin yourself, although it looks very time-consuming)
pre- & post-consumer recycled yarn (this yarn made from waste poly-fibers and post-consumer plastic bottles isn't available, as far as I can tell, for us hand-knitters, but is interesting nonetheless)

What odd yarns have you seen/heard about? Anyone know anything about "concrete" yarn? I swear I saw it in passing one day, but I can't find information on it anywhere.

Stitches is over. . . :(

Well, Stitches East has come and gone. Did you go? How was your experience?

Two friends, Yarn Mama and a new knitter, and I all went down to Baltimore on Friday. It was a good time. The weather cooperated and permitted a walk to Inner Harbor for dinner, as well as a quick look around again on Saturday afternoon.

Yarn Mama and I both took classes on Friday afternoon. She took a class on swatching (the EVIL 5-letter word!). My class, Introduction to Brioche, was very interesting. While I was thoroughly confused at first, I was able to do the stitch in the end. I was even able to utilize two colors to make the pattern look very different. The instructor, Nancy Marchant, really knows her stuff. She has a wonderful website which she shared with us to help as we continue working with the brioche stitch and it's many variations: briochestitch.com. I will definitely be starting a project with this fun stitch, and exploring her website soon!

Then we entered the MarketPlace --- the large room full of lots of yarn and yarn-y stuff!! I purchased a gorgeous skein of Tess yarn called Twinkle Toes ... a surprise to knit up for my mom, who for some reason nicknamed me "twinkle toes" a few years back (I think cuz I'm a bit clumsy). Also picked up a nice heathered grey skein of Cascade superwash for a hat I've been commissioned to knit -- an old-fashioned stocking hat.

Really, Stitches was just as good as last year in terms of variety, selection, etc. So why am I not oozing post-Stitches excitement? Well, this year I had a strict budget -- for my business and for my personal stash. The skeins I mentioned above... that's all I bought (plus a silicon de-pet-furring roller). Oh yes, I fondled and oogled, and scored a few sample knitting and crocheting mags, but I didn't get to just run amuck and buy wily-nily as I did last year. It kinda sapped a little of the fun out of the experience. *sigh* Guess I'll save up for wily-nily spending next year, hopefully my first year at Rhinebeck!

On cooler weather and current projects

Jacket weather took me by surprise -- being pre-occupied makes you much less aware of your surroundings until shivering sets in! But this morning felt so crisp and fresh..... It makes me want to cuddle into a warm sweater and sit on my balcony and knit. I'm thinking a nice soft blanket. I don't have a pattern in mind yet, and most likely I won't select one but just knit as I feel, perhaps some random striping. I have nearly 2000 yards of lovely soft wool in ice blue and chocolate brown. A surprising color combination, but they are beautiful together!

Some projects other than the blanket I feel coming on are pending first:

• As the holidays are fast approaching (ack! where does time go again?!?), I will be working to stuff and "dress" some knitted snow men and snow women. I'll also be making sure to have a wide selection of warm and cozy scarves and hats for the winter months. Some will be posted soon to my website (I hope!).
• Another important current project is a dog blankie. I received an order last week for a custom "quilted" blanket for a dog, and just bought fabric for it last night. The request involved chocolate brown and rust fabrics -- the rust has tiny ivory dog bones printed all over!
• Finally, I will be sewing together some more paperback book covers/carriers. I still have some cut and ready to go, but had been waiting until after a few craft shows to actually assemble them. Now it's time -- stock is getting low and there are more shows on the way! The covers make great stocking stuffers, but we'll discuss cute stocking stuffer ideas a little later on.

I'm in Stitches

Stitches with Style, that is! Beginning this week, some of my handcrafted items will be on display (and available for purchase, of course!) at Stitches with Style, my LYS (Local Yarn Shop) in Newark, DE.

Right now there are knit stuffed snowpeople and a few of the Smileville Bears ready for adoption. Soon I will be adding some fabric book covers (They are sooo convenient: just slip your paperback into the cover, use the integrated bookmark to keep your place, grab the handles and go!). And custom-made wooden yarn swifts will be available for special order (more on these a little later).

Stop by Stitches, say hello to Linda and crew, fondle the pretty yarns, and check out my stuff!!

The world's biggest yarn stash

Unfortunately, it's not mine, although I'm working on it. I can only imagine walking through this room, sniffing a Tess here, fondling a cashmere or angora there..... This must be like where all good knitters go after death!

Seriously, I'm sooo jealous!!! This MUST be the largest stash known to knitter!! My head is reeling as it is; I cannot imagine any more privately owned yarn in one room.

If you click on the picture, you can read what the woman's mother-in-law posted about the stash a few months ago.

It's STITCHES Time!!!

I can't believe it! After waiting for what felt like an EON, it is finally time to pack for Stitches. In my workroom, I have a wonderful mess of needles and yarn on the floor, picking out all that I need for my classes. And then I get to pack clothes and go to bed... and wake up in the morning to set out on my adventure!

I am thrilled that my mom is able to come with me for one day. I pick her up bright and early tomorrow so we can see Baltimore AND see the beautiful yarns. Then on Friday she'll go home, classes will begin, and the Yarn Mama will be joining me for classes and revelry (and Ravelry, too!) and fun. I cannot wait to experience the Yarn Market with several years of knitting under my belt (the first year that I went I was a novice knitter, and hardly even knew what I was looking at enough to really appreciate it).

I'm traveling light so as to have plenty of room to bring back lovely new fibers, so the laptop is staying home (thus, no updates until I return). But fear not, I shall share.....

Homework for Stitches

Yes, I looked at the calendar today and thought "Gaa! It's only 2 months until Stitches East in Baltimore, and I have homework to do!"

I printed up the schedule of classes I'm signed up to take --- I created the list awhile back --- with all the supplies and homework associated with each. Now I need to go find yarn left-overs to work with, and get busy! Since it seems that I just have swatch after swatch to knit, I think working on them in between other projects MAY keep me from going insane. So if I start now.....

Thankfully, only two of my four classes require pre-knitting: Rolled Endings on Friday morning and Build a Better Bag on Saturday morning. My shawl class and my beginner entrelac classes don't require any work at all.

The entrelac has been teasing me, however. Now that I'm on Ravelry (as "Patience" since I'm on only for my personal knitting --- no association to Smile Creations Crafts), I have found lots of projects I want to make in "all" my spare time. One of them is an entrelac wash cloth, believe it or not (check out my Ravelry queue to see it for yourself). Not only does it look cool, but I thought it may be easier than trying to jump into entrelac with, say, the shawl I've been wanting to make for my sister for the past two+ years. We'll see if the bug moves me enough to try it pre-Stitches. Somehow, I doubt it. Maybe the wash cloth will be my first project after Stitches, to get my feet wet before the shawl. I'll keep you posted.

Now, off to find the yarn for my swatches!

Back to my knitting roots

Today I visited University of Pennsylvania, to knit with the women who taught me to knit a few years ago. Every so often I try to join them in their weekly Thursday knitting circle. It's always good to see them, and share our projects.

This time I was able to show them my FINISHED first pair of socks!! Yes, you read that right... the pair of socks I've been knitting for a gift are done. And just in time, too. No final pictures, though, until the recipient gets to see them and try them on. I'm crossing my fingers that they fit, as I didn't have actual foot measurements and kinda went by the average length, etc for the size shoe the person wears.

After showing off the socks, I began working on a cute little crochet halter top. It's a bright sunny yellow --- a yarn called Scooter that's a cotton/rayon/nylon blend. Tiny shimmery nylon threads are twisted with the fibers and give Scooter a luminescent quality. I may not have enough of the yellow Scooter, but I have some skeins in a really sweet denim color, so I may do the edging in the denim; we'll see.

Update on yarn stash organization and sock project

Thanks to Craft Critique, who included me in their special "Organizational Carnival" June 13-14th.

An update on said yarn stash organization:
Those of you who read the original post know that I had a serious shelf mishap a few weeks ago as I began organizing my office area, (including my yarn stash!).

Thanks to a handy husband, all is well. :) It turned out that the shelf hangers that came with the furniture were not strong enough to hold all of my yarn! So my husband got super-duper hangers and fixed that problem. Now the yarn divider is at eye-level (the better to admire my pretties) and the ribbon yarns (of which I have a ton!) and project left-overs are on the bottom shelves.


And the socks I'm knitting are well on their way. Both have heels now, and one has been worked all the way to the toes! I have two weeks left to finish (they are a birthday gift)... can I do it?

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.

Summer 2007 Knitting Contest

Since I knit all the time, but have a tendency to drop projects and begin new ones rather rapidly, I thought this contest, sponsored by Skeins Her Way, would be a great way to keep me on track this summer! Two women in my knitting group, reluctantMANGO and YarnMama, have already posted their knitting goal list for the contest. If you decide to lay it on the line and ante up a goals list for the contest, please be sure to mention my blog as your jumping point.

Here goes, my summer 2007 knitting goals:
1) Finish knitting my first pair of socks EVER! The cuffs are done; I'm moving on to the heels tonight.
2) Finish knitting the first item I've ever started for myself... a simple bandeau/tube top in raspberry Silky Look (Sirdar).
3) Finish the two knit purses that I have in various stages of incompletion.
4)Find a cute ribbon yarn pattern for little girls (preferably a shrug or wrap) and knit using some Anny Blatt yarn from Heaven (it was gifted to our group by an avid knitter who passed away).
5) Teach my mom how to purl, increase, and decrease using her Knifty Knitter looms.
6) Learn entrelac knitting so I can finally work on the shrug I promised my sister when I first learned to knit!
7) Knit and felt a purse using Lion Brand Wool. I bought the yarn, now to get brave enough to knit for felting!!

This may not seem like an ambitious list compared to others -- I am always thinking that I should be doing MORE -- but I am trying to keep in mind that I also crochet, sew, cross-stitch, and make wreaths. I'll keep trying to fight perfectionism!

Organizing the stash -- the yarn stash, that is

On Sunday, my hubby and I finally went shopping for an organization system for my office. Now that I've been working from home for 8 months, I have a very good handle on what supplies I use and how much of certain items that I need to keep on hand. And I am thoroughly sick of stepping over boxes and bags in my office. Both of those things made organizing my office somewhat urgent. :)

So we invested in an adjustable free-standing wardrobe, a tall bookshelf, and some additional dividers to customize the two. And after hours of assembly with Dan, and a marathon put-away session with my Mom yesterday, all the yarn was organized (wow, I have more yarn than I thought!) as was the fabric and all my books. Yes, there's more to do, but I am well on my way.

The bookshelf, as you can see, looks fantabulous. :) The white "blob" to the right is the side of the wardrobe. They are at right angles to each other.


Here is the wardrobe post-trauma this afternoon. Other than saying that the two shelves above the yarn were originally below it, I'll leave it at that.


So. Now to the trauma. I was so happy with my organization that I of course wanted to share. But as soon as I opened the wardrobe door this afternoon to take pictures, a shelf fell. Originally the yarn divider was at the top (right under the shelf that goes all the way across) resting on one shelf, and there was one other shelf before the bottom of the wardrobe. The shelf that fell was, of course, the one the yarn divider system was resting on. After a brief moment of panic, I realized that I could remove a shelf from the right, and use one of those shelf hooks to stabilize the precarious situation of my yarn. So I carefully took everything off of one shelf on the right, removed the shelf, and snagged the shelf hook. But before I could slide the shelf hook in and save the day, the shelf below fell in one corner. This became a slippery slope, where every time I moved, a shower of yarn would come down upon my head, and the shelves would slip in another corner.

To make a very frustrating story slightly shorter, I did eventually manage to rescue everything from below the yarn divider, remove the shelves, and sit the divider on the "floor" of the wardrobe, where it will now stay. The yarn still isn't all put away, though, because it turns out that the top of the wardrobe is a minuscule amount wider than the bottom, and the last partition of my yarn divider doesn't fit. Which means Dan gets to play with his power hand saw again soon. *Sigh*

What can be better than a day full of wool and sheep and knitting friends?

Yes, I had all three yesterday, and it was wonderful! Three knitting friends from the Newark Knitters Group (YarnMama, reluctantMANGO, and RangerSarah), and I traveled together to the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD for the 34th annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. It was my first time there, but reMANGO and RangerSarah were very able guides through the hub-bub.

We started at 6:30am, and were rewarded with a decent parking place not too far from the entrance. Close enough, at least, that we could return to the car halfway through the day, to get our lunches and drop off our purchases to that point.

It seemed there was no where on the premises that the sound of sheep bleating didn't reach your ears. And they were all so cute: big ones, little ones, shorn and fluffy ones. I also saw my first alpacas (they remind me of llamas, but more sheep-sized) and llamas, which I find adorable. We took a break in the middle of morning shopping to catch a sheep dog demonstration, which turned out to be truly amazing. The dogs know exactly what to do to keep the sheep where the herder/master wants them, and do it with finesse.

(baby sheep, alpacas, and llama, top to bottom)

We all made some great purchases, as you can see in our "stash photo" at the end of the day! I personally picked up several sock yarns (I WILL make socks!!! I simply must learn. The super-soft, pink/white handpainted sock yarn from Shelridge Farm will be a good enticement.), some uniquely-colored green/black yarn with sparkles to make a scarf, and some candy-cane striped yarn to make a sleeveless top.

Flowers

Recently I've been inspired by the spring-like weather (yes, that includes the rain!) to crochet flowers. I'm having fun experimenting with colors and textures -- and using up some of my "scrap yarn" (yarn left over from other projects) as well.

They make wonderfully portable projects, as by nature they're so tiny. Even the largest ones I've made are a mere 4.5" in diameter. And what am I doing with all these flowers, you may wonder. I'm sewing silver pin backs on them; they make adorable brooches/pins.

As I said, the largest ones are 4.5" in diameter; some have turned out quite the opposite -- super-tiny (maybe 1" in diameter is all!). Much of the size difference is determined by the weight of the yarn itself. I've done the same rose pattern several times, each time with a different yarn, and each time, it's a different size. The first two flowers in photos below are a perfect example: both are the same rose pattern, but the multi-color one is about .75" larger.

Some of these flower pins have already made their way to my website. Click here to see them (these are the medium-size flowers -- each between 2" - 3.5").

Here are some pics:




I think the one in the center of the bottom row, with three tiny flowers and leaves, is my favorite so far. What do you think?

Yarn Tasting

Yum! Yarn!

That's what Stitches with Style, a great yarn shop by my house in Newark, DE, called their event this past Sunday -- "Yarn Tasting." And it was a perfectly delicious event!

We "yarn tasted" early, before the store was officially open, so it was just a private group of 10 or so knitters and lots of YARN! Sheryl (the owner) and her staff had selected several new summer-weight yarns for us to try. Each skein was in its own plastic baggie, along with a pair of knitting needles in the recommended gauge, and a slip of paper instructing us how many stitches to cast on and what pattern to knit.

For my first test, I picked Needful Yarns Geranium. Very interesting yarn: a bit rough to the touch (it's about half linen), gorgeous coloring, an inconsistent texture (it was at points very fine, and then suddenly very fat). Although I liked the swatch when I was finished, I ultimately decided that Geranium is too difficult to knit with and not really worth the trouble.

I moved on to Jo Sharp DK Cotton. 100% cotton, this yarn felt nice, and knit up evenly and consistently. Toward the end of the swatch I worked, I began having trouble with the yarn splitting, but I blame that on myself -- I was itching to get my hands on still another different yarn! However, before I move to report on that one, I must say that this 100% cotton was a joy to work with; I have, prior to Jo Sharp, only experienced 100% cottons that felt kinda rough and stiff. I would have no objections to making a garment out of this cotton yarn.

Now, my third yarn was 100% bamboo. Very, very interesting! I am embarrassed to say that I can't recall the name of the yarn, so if anyone reading happens to have been there, please help! But I was so impressed with this yarn! I doubt I would have ever considered buying bamboo yarn if I hadn't had this chance to "taste" it. It had a silky sheen, slid on and off the needles easily (but not TOO easily!), didn't split, and looked great knitted up! The skein Sheryl had chosen for us to "taste" was a gorgeous rainbow variegated yarn. YUM!! My favorite of the day, for sure!

Not to be ignored in all the yarn "tasting" were the desserts that Sheryl and her staff baked for us. Yes, baked! Chocolate cream filled cupcakes, coffee cake, puff pastries, berry tart, fresh fruit salad (no, that wasn't baked).... the back room was full of goodies that we all enjoyed after enjoying all the new yarns of summer.

It was a GREAT event; I can't wait for the next one!!

It's a beautiful Saturday

It is! Warm (for a Delaware March, anyway), sunny, clear-skied...... I feel happier than I have in days! Darn the winter blues!

Despite a raging cold, I decided to take advantage of the day, if only for a short while. I donned a jacket, and, armed with paint brush, varnished the desk and chair set that I carefully sanded last weekend. It looks great (if I do say so myself), but it also looks as if I have really thirsty wood. I mean, there are parts that look dry ALREADY, and I know it's not THAT warm. So I think I may have to do another coat next weekend. But I'm getting closer to having all my display furniture ready for the craft show season. Good thing, too, since my first show of this year is just 3 weeks away!

On other news, the newsboy hat is nearly complete. It is only missing a brim, which I plan to finish tomorrow. And I'm also nearly done knitting a little girls' caplet in white ribbon yarn and edged in wonderful fuzzy blue/green yarn. It will be perfect for those upcoming spring days. I'll post pics tomorrow; I'm just not in the mood to drag out my camera today.

Craft Show Displays -- continuing the sprucing process

I was so hungry this morning, I was awake several hours earlier than normal! I hate when my appetite makes it impossible to sleep.

However, that also meant that I got a jump on working on my craft show displays. By lunch, I had already sanded a really cute desk and chair set. It's so tiny, it looks like it should be a child's set, but it's perfect for fitting in a craft show booth. And despite the small profile, the chair is comfortable. Now it's ready to varnish. But it's just too cold outside, even in the garage with the door closed, to do both tasks today. So I'll save that part for next weekend.

With that work out of the way, now I can do the fun stuff -- a few hours knitting up a custom order. A former colleague requested a newsboy-style cap, much like the one pictured below, but in dark royal purple to match her coat. I found two perfect yarns, which means I'll make hers, but then I'll make another for my store, too! The first yarn I found one is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (it's soooo soft! I used it for several scarves before and really really liked the feel.). The other is Moda Dea SuperWash Wool (100% washable means it's warm and cheap to clean. It also knits up to a nice feeling hat).

Hooray for Smiley's Yarns!

Yesterday was a great day!

I got an email from Smiley's Yarns, and they are going to replace the skeins of yarn that were damaged in my last order! Hooray! I'm glad they came through, because I was going to be very disappointed if I had to find another place to shop for yarn.

My mom drove to my house and we spent the day together. We worked on a new pattern, and have two successful items to show for it! We are the perfect sewing compliment: I'm good at measuring and am more mechanically minded, but she is great at ironing to make things easier to sew, seam allowances, pinning, and the more technical sewing stuff. What was the pattern, you ask? We are avid readers, and both have paperback covers with handles for carrying. We re-created such a fabric cover, from scratch. It was a lot of measuring, and pretty complicated to figure out how to stitch all the seams so that none of them are visible!
Here're two pictures of how it turned out:

And the third reason yesterday rocks: my husband and I packed for a surprise long weekend. Well, my surprise... he won't tell me where we're going! Most difficult part of packing will be to pick a project to work on during the drive to our destination..... :)

So... I'm off to our surprise vacation!