Hat unveiling...

I take weeks - even months to create a pattern with variegated yarns. I love variegated yarns but they're so exquisitely beautiful that they really need no fancy stitch pattern what so ever. So, when I am asked to design with these hand-dyed yarns, I usually drag my feet. So once again, http://www.crownmountainfarms.com/ asked me to create a hat based on his hand-spun hand dyed Sock Hop yarn (color Atlantis). Well, after numerous swatches and unsatisfying results, I found a subtle cable that I incorporated with a simple rib stitch. The ribbing gives the hat a nice elasticity while the cable keeps boredom at bay. I thought that the cable would also make the hat more handsome and more gender generic. So - voila, here it is. The pattern is really slated for Fall 2009 so the only place the hat pattern will be available until then is through Crown Mountain Farms. Klaus of Crown Mountain will have it at his booth at the Northwest Regional Spinners Conference in Tacoma, Wa June 4th - 7th (see attached link for location and times).

http://www.nwregionalspinners.org/. His next event will be at The Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon June 19th - 21st. http://www.blacksheepgathering.org/. Stop by and say hi and tell him I sent you!

Teaching future knitters

Today was a great - if not exhausting day. My knitting buddies and I went to our kids' elementary school to teach knitting. Every year, they have this day called "Imagination Celebration" where the children get to pick from 30 different activities - ranging from hip hop to building bird houses. There are 3 sessions (1 hour each) and the kids get to request what sessions they want. I have been doing this event for the past 4 years and it's so much fun. Every year it exhausts me and I question if I want to do it again. Last year, while I was walking to my daughters class room after this event, a little girl ran clear across the playground to thank me for teaching her to knit. I had to hold back the tears...and then I walked on cloud 9 for the rest of the day. It's not that the kids are difficult to teach, it's that it's painful to watch them pull their knitting needles apart from one another as far as they can go or watching stitches fling off their needles - never to be caught again. Or, their dexterity needs to be oiled like the tin man. Some get frustrated but about halfway through the class you can hear the kids mumbling how much fun it is and how they want to do it again next year. We even had 3 boys this year. Later, the teachers come up to me and let me know how proud their students were when they walked back to class wearing their friendship bracelet or choker. So today, we taught 32 - 3rd to 5th graders how to knit. It's been a good day.....I could use a nap though!

Thanks Sherri, Sue and Kristen - I couldn't have done it without you!

I've fallen in love...again...

Ask any of my friends and they'll tell you that I gravitate towards the solid earth toned balls of yarn. I'm a bit boring to say the least but I find it exciting to create a design using a blank canvas. Most, if not all of my designs are working in solid colors. I just find that variegated yarns tend to overwelm most designs. It's like a fight to see who stands out more - the color palette or the stitch pattern.
Well - I've fallen in love with this hand dyed - homespun hank of sock yarn. It was sent to me by http://www.crownmountainfarms.com/. Crown Mountain Farms is having a booth at http://www.knitandcrochetshow.com/ in Portland, OR
(May 15 - 17) and will be carrying my full line of patterns. He asked that I knit up a sock sample for him to help show the sock yarn. The one pictured is called "She's like a rainbow" - and it is just gorgeous. I absolutely love this yarn! I must make a sweater out of it - of course, this will take some time! If you happen to be in the Portland area next weekend- stop by the booth and take a look at these hand dyed yarns - they're utterly scrumptious!

Designing for Simply Shetland

Simply Shetland Lambswool Cashmere (color Aphrodite #002)

After months of swatching and sketching, I've finally come up with a Spring Cardigan that I am so excited about. This will be my 3rd design for Simply Shetland. The original design used the feather and fan stitch pattern. I swatched it, blocked it, and submitted it to Simply Shetland for approval. By the time I had received approval on this design concept, I had just received my Creative Knitting magazine - which had about 4 designs all using the feather and fan stitch pattern! Then, all of a sudden - every where I turned, I saw feather and fan scarves, shells, dresses...you name it. So - needless to say, I no longer liked my design idea and it was back to the drawing board. My new design is gorgeous! Everything has remained the same in terms of the concept and style - but I am so much happier with the new lace pattern. It'll definitely be for intermediates - as the lace will take more concentration and serious blocking - but it'll be so worth it. The hard part is behind me, now for the fun part - casting on!

Missing in action / in search of baby blankets...

Okay - so according to my BFF (she'll be losing that title here soon!), I have been deliquent on my blogging. So April in a nutshell....the month started out with a bang. I decided that it was time for me to maintain my own website. It's too expensive to hire someone to change photos and add patterns. So - I went on-line and found an Adobe CS3 Dreamweaver which is what my website was created with. I don't know much about software or websites. Come to find out - the company that I bought the software from was shady and out of NYC. The software came scratched and un-installable. I've been bamboozled! After desperate pleas for help, they sent me another one. This time it was installable - but the serial number was invalid so I could not register or use it. After another few pleas, I did get a full refund - but only after lots of complaints to the shady company, paypal and the Better Business Bureau. So - I'm putting that one on the back burner....I'm turning gray and I can't seem to stop it...quick I need my hair dyed.

I had 2 deadlines to meet this month - both of which took the entire month. I can now breathe again. We've picked out a carpet for the new "knitting" office (Cal still thinks it's his office) and it'll be installed the second saturday in May. So my office is still half chaos, half organized. Once the carpet is installed, I'll be up and running! I'll even have a table for my blockers, yarn swift and ball winder (www.knitpicks.com). It'll be like a production line. There is a built-in ledge on the wall where I have my hat heads and sock feet all lined up. It looks really good. My husband has some posters about the heads and feet - which I'll be taking down when he's not looking to replace with a 'knitting' poster of some type. He'll never know what hit him.

Lastly, I met up with another knitter the other day. I found her on Ravelry(http://www.ravelry.com/)

and her husband is a social worker in Tacoma. She had mentioned that 70 children come through the DHSH system (into foster care) every month. The social workers provide a new blanket for each child that comes through their doors. So she was looking for blanket donations on Ravelry. I don't have the time to knit up a blanket - but I had sewn up a few crib quilts - which I donated. We had never met before - in yet, we chatted for a good hour and a half. We could have gone on another 2 hours easily if it wasn't for family and sun awaiting our return. My conclusion is knitter's have so much in common - no wonder we like our retreats. We don't have to know anybody at the retreat to have fun.

So - on that note...if anyone has a new blanket of any size (knit, crocheted or sewn) that they would like to donate, I would be happy to collect them and pass them on to Jennifer. If times are tough in your household - you can only imagine what the social workers are faced with.