Blogger and designer Alison is having a contest, and the prize is a skein of Blue Sky Alpaca's brand-new yarn, Suri Merino!!!
Go here to enter. It's not even a hard contest! You just have to leave a comment letting her know at what age you learned to knit.
See, I'm looking out for you! Go win some yarn.
Showing posts with label knitting news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting news. Show all posts
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Weekend
I finally, FINALLY started the Eyelet Cardi from Blue Sky Alpacas! Monica and Gay helped motivate me to get this on the needles. It's a terrific pattern - the stitch pattern is really only two rows, and the Blue Sky Dyed Cotton is chunky enough to keep the project moving. I started and nearly finished the back on Saturday.
Free Stuff!
Last Thursday's KIP was so fun! I saw Mary for the first time in I don't know how long, welcomed a new person to the group (hi Molly!), and hung out with the usual suspects. It must have been my lucky day, because Mary gave me an extra copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing!! I had been eyeing this book, and it did not disappoint - it has TONS of well-designed, useful, and gift-worthy projects. Thank you Mary (and Carolyn)! It was so nice of you to think of me. And, Teresa was destashing as well - she brought a bunch of yarn and magazines to share. I scored these two Interweave back issues - there are some beautiful patterns in each, mainly nice warm pullovers. Excellent, excellent!!
Speaking of knitting magazines - I just bought the latest issue of Vogue Knitting, and was surprised to read that their editor is stepping down...but then I was excited to learn that the new editor will be Adina Klein! I've seen her on Knitty Gritty, and read her articles in Knit.1, and I really like her style. So now I have a crisis: do I subscribe to VK? And if so, do I dump Interweave? I kind of hate to, since Eunny will be the new editor, but two knitting mags seems like overkill since I never get rid of old issues. Decisions, decisions.
Hope you all have had a great weekend!
Free Stuff!
Last Thursday's KIP was so fun! I saw Mary for the first time in I don't know how long, welcomed a new person to the group (hi Molly!), and hung out with the usual suspects. It must have been my lucky day, because Mary gave me an extra copy of Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing!! I had been eyeing this book, and it did not disappoint - it has TONS of well-designed, useful, and gift-worthy projects. Thank you Mary (and Carolyn)! It was so nice of you to think of me. And, Teresa was destashing as well - she brought a bunch of yarn and magazines to share. I scored these two Interweave back issues - there are some beautiful patterns in each, mainly nice warm pullovers. Excellent, excellent!!
Speaking of knitting magazines - I just bought the latest issue of Vogue Knitting, and was surprised to read that their editor is stepping down...but then I was excited to learn that the new editor will be Adina Klein! I've seen her on Knitty Gritty, and read her articles in Knit.1, and I really like her style. So now I have a crisis: do I subscribe to VK? And if so, do I dump Interweave? I kind of hate to, since Eunny will be the new editor, but two knitting mags seems like overkill since I never get rid of old issues. Decisions, decisions.
Hope you all have had a great weekend!
Monday, May 07, 2007
A Few Things
Looptopia is this Friday! Are you going? Let me know! As one knitter pointed out, any event with 'loop' in the name should definitely have knitters in full force! The Windy City Knitting Guild is sponsoring a knit night from 10 to midnight..but there are plenty of other things happening too!
Also, thank you THANK YOU for the nice comments on my sewing project! They were so fun to read. Yes, I do feel like I've come along way - definitely in my confidence with sewing, and somewhat in my technique.
In other news - my knitting world is somewhat monotonous of late. I finished the knitting on Flair, save picking up the neckband, so that's set aside for some quiet couch-side knitting. Other than that, the only project I have going is the lacy Kidsilk Haze shawl. It keeps getting longer, but there's really no reason to post a pic.
So, I'll share some fun colors instead. I am planning to make a scarf for my mother-in-law. She requested blues and purples, so here's what I've got:
This is Dream in Color yarn - the left Colorway is Nightwatch and the right is Some Summer Sky. It doesn't show up so well on my monitor, but the darker one has plummy purples in it. I'm thinking about making a LMKG Chevron scarf...but I'm looking for other ideas as well. I'm also thinking about whether these are the right colors...I may need to look for something with more purple since that's what she asked for. On the other hand, she does have beautiful blue eyes, so maybe I should stick with these.
Also, I have a new toy:
I bought this Ashford niddy noddy so I could reskein some previously-knitted yarn - I know you don't need a tool to do this, but my back-of-chair attempts were wholly unsuccessful. And, the niddy noddy was under $15 from Webs. Plus, who could argue with how beautiful this yarn looks against the smooth wood?
One other thing - I'm madly in love with this cardigan. I may have to rip this off for fall. We'll see if the swingy sweater trend continues!
Hope you are all enjoying spring!!
Also, thank you THANK YOU for the nice comments on my sewing project! They were so fun to read. Yes, I do feel like I've come along way - definitely in my confidence with sewing, and somewhat in my technique.
In other news - my knitting world is somewhat monotonous of late. I finished the knitting on Flair, save picking up the neckband, so that's set aside for some quiet couch-side knitting. Other than that, the only project I have going is the lacy Kidsilk Haze shawl. It keeps getting longer, but there's really no reason to post a pic.
So, I'll share some fun colors instead. I am planning to make a scarf for my mother-in-law. She requested blues and purples, so here's what I've got:
This is Dream in Color yarn - the left Colorway is Nightwatch and the right is Some Summer Sky. It doesn't show up so well on my monitor, but the darker one has plummy purples in it. I'm thinking about making a LMKG Chevron scarf...but I'm looking for other ideas as well. I'm also thinking about whether these are the right colors...I may need to look for something with more purple since that's what she asked for. On the other hand, she does have beautiful blue eyes, so maybe I should stick with these.
Also, I have a new toy:
I bought this Ashford niddy noddy so I could reskein some previously-knitted yarn - I know you don't need a tool to do this, but my back-of-chair attempts were wholly unsuccessful. And, the niddy noddy was under $15 from Webs. Plus, who could argue with how beautiful this yarn looks against the smooth wood?
One other thing - I'm madly in love with this cardigan. I may have to rip this off for fall. We'll see if the swingy sweater trend continues!
Hope you are all enjoying spring!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Blocking is Hard!
I decided to block my first-ever lace project today. It was hard! Even though the shawl was damp, it was really difficult to get the top edge to be straight and totally perpendicular to the center stitch column. Sigh. Oh well! For my first effort, I'll take it! It was really fun to knit lace, and even better to see it stretch out. The Dream in Color yarn did very well, I think. I see another shawl in my future, even though I'm not crazy about the pointy parts at the bottom edges.
I also want to say a huge shout-out and THANK YOU to my knitting buddies who sent me the sweetest get-well card! It was such a suprise! (and I heard my hubby was in on it too - sneaky!) I really miss getting together to knit. But it won't be much longer before I can rove the city in search of knitters and more yarn, as usual!
Another fun thing: I sold some yarn on the Destash blog! It was my first time de-stashing and I have to admit, it was kind of thrilling. Plus - stuff really moves on this site! I sold each lot I posted in less than 24 hours. Apparently I have good taste, if an overactive buying habit!
And one more fun thing before I go: my friend has started a new blog with an awesome name: Knit Crit. The focus of her blog is knitting pattern reviews, and with your input, it will turn into a real resource for us to "look before we knit." So, check her out!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Random Post for a Random Day
Hello all! I got a little sidetracked last week, but let me be sure to say a huge THANK YOU for all the compliments on my gold 'n' leafy sweater. Thanks for applauding my first riff on a pattern...maybe one day there will be a full-fledged sturdygirl design effort. Who knows?
Things have been crazy, though mostly in a good way. Wednesday, I went on a business trip to D.C. (well, Alexandria), which was great because I got to see my best friend A. My boss and I were supposed to leave on Friday, but got snowed out. I say snowed out because DC was a lovely 70 degrees - while Chicago was getting buried with snow and ice. So I got to hang with A. not once, but twice in three days! I also got some goodies at Stitch DC - no pic yet, but I will share soon, because the yarn I picked up is cool.
As far as knitting goes, I somehow find myself sucked into the vortex of holiday knitting. I did my best to avoid it, but it happened anyway. Right now I'm working on some dishcloths which will probably be gifts for my co-workers. It's never good to be caught empty-handed when a colleague gives you a gift! Here's a really bad pic from my cell phone:
(knitting at work - sshhh!)
The other thing I wanted to share is more knitting news. Have you ever heard of Colorsong Yarns? They have the best selection of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns I've ever seen, which is great in and of itself - but now they've launched NatureSong, an online shop of natural yarns. Did you know Habu makes cashmere yarn? Check it, friends.
Anyway. That's pretty much all I have to say, except for this:
A stealthy shot of Benetton's yarn tree decoration. Kinda cool, but shouldn't someone be knitting with that stuff?!?
Things have been crazy, though mostly in a good way. Wednesday, I went on a business trip to D.C. (well, Alexandria), which was great because I got to see my best friend A. My boss and I were supposed to leave on Friday, but got snowed out. I say snowed out because DC was a lovely 70 degrees - while Chicago was getting buried with snow and ice. So I got to hang with A. not once, but twice in three days! I also got some goodies at Stitch DC - no pic yet, but I will share soon, because the yarn I picked up is cool.
As far as knitting goes, I somehow find myself sucked into the vortex of holiday knitting. I did my best to avoid it, but it happened anyway. Right now I'm working on some dishcloths which will probably be gifts for my co-workers. It's never good to be caught empty-handed when a colleague gives you a gift! Here's a really bad pic from my cell phone:
(knitting at work - sshhh!)
The other thing I wanted to share is more knitting news. Have you ever heard of Colorsong Yarns? They have the best selection of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns I've ever seen, which is great in and of itself - but now they've launched NatureSong, an online shop of natural yarns. Did you know Habu makes cashmere yarn? Check it, friends.
Anyway. That's pretty much all I have to say, except for this:
A stealthy shot of Benetton's yarn tree decoration. Kinda cool, but shouldn't someone be knitting with that stuff?!?
Monday, November 13, 2006
Some Knitting News
It seems like there is so much going on in knitting, and I am forever learning about more cool things - so I imagine some of you feel the same way. So here are a few tidbits I've come across lately:
Knitalongs:
Lion Brand now has luxury yarn! They are offering three new yarns, one in cashmere, and two mohair/silk blends (the latter are even hand-dyed)! What is the world coming to?! (grin) Check it out here.
I love shopping online at Purl in New York City. Now they have a blog, the Purl Bee, that explores all kinds of quilting and knitting projects, techniques, new products, and even reviews of art exhibits and books. Recent posts have discussed vintage quilt designs and the work of Elizabeth Zimmerman.
I have been waiting for this! Vermont Organic Fiber Company is offering organic knitting wool, called O-Wool.This yarn is spun from 100% Certified Organic wool and is processed in accordance with the Organic Trade Association's Fiber Processing standards. They have a policy of not buying wool from farms where sheep are mulesed, meaning this yarn is cruelty-free. O-Wool comes in a great set of rich colors and has good yardage.
And a special newsbite for Chicagoans: The MCA, will be hosting Stitch n Bitch once again, on the first Tuesday of every month from November through May from 5:30-8 pm in the café. I went once and had a great time - I'd love to do it again.
And in my personal knitting news, the gold and leafy sweater is done! It just needs ends woven in and a photo shoot! Very exciting...
Knitalongs:
- Knit lace in Lacevember! http://lacevember.blogspot.com/
- Knit with Noro this month in Norovember. Sign up at http://minxknits.blog-city.com/
Lion Brand now has luxury yarn! They are offering three new yarns, one in cashmere, and two mohair/silk blends (the latter are even hand-dyed)! What is the world coming to?! (grin) Check it out here.
I love shopping online at Purl in New York City. Now they have a blog, the Purl Bee, that explores all kinds of quilting and knitting projects, techniques, new products, and even reviews of art exhibits and books. Recent posts have discussed vintage quilt designs and the work of Elizabeth Zimmerman.
I have been waiting for this! Vermont Organic Fiber Company is offering organic knitting wool, called O-Wool.This yarn is spun from 100% Certified Organic wool and is processed in accordance with the Organic Trade Association's Fiber Processing standards. They have a policy of not buying wool from farms where sheep are mulesed, meaning this yarn is cruelty-free. O-Wool comes in a great set of rich colors and has good yardage.
And a special newsbite for Chicagoans: The MCA, will be hosting Stitch n Bitch once again, on the first Tuesday of every month from November through May from 5:30-8 pm in the café. I went once and had a great time - I'd love to do it again.
And in my personal knitting news, the gold and leafy sweater is done! It just needs ends woven in and a photo shoot! Very exciting...
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