Fashionknitsta Thursday: 1/7/10

Happy New Year, everyone! I know I'm a few days late (sorry about that!), the early arrival of Haapsalu caught me completely by surprise. In any case, I'm very excited to be back and blogging again this week as I have been saving up quite a few things to share.

The first thing I have today some of you may have seen, as its made it into the most popular patterns on Ravelry, the Burberry Inspired Cowl Neck Scarf by Julianne Smith.


This wonderful (and free!) pattern is available via Julianne's Ravelry, and on her blog. It takes just about 200 yards exactly of a bulky weight yarn, and though I love the slight sheen of the merino silk blend she chose, I'm torn between wanting to try this with Malabrigo Chunky or the new Malabrigo Twist (coming to the website soon, promise). BUT if you read Sara's last post I will be beginning absolutely no new projects until I complete at least of few of the thousand I have going, so sadly this will have wait. Oh, but it could be so quick...

This next lovely little accessory I found on Ravelry is also going to be hard not to start (and leave half-finished for a month). Dapper, by Andrea Satterlund, is an adorable (and free, and quick!) pattern that I think is very now, and I love it; but, then I'm a bow person.

Can be worn as a headband or bow tie, done entirely in garter stitch, and adjustable this would be really fun to have for spring. Andrea has a really great crafty blog that I recommend checking out as well if you're interested.

If you, like me, have an Etsy browsing problem you may recognize the next lovely piece I have to share today. I first saw this beauty from Vart's shop when it was featured on Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides: Statement Gifts list and I have been thinking about it ever since.


This beautiful hand felted shawl is made of 100% merino and is embellished with silk and Swarovski crystals. Really one of the most gorgeous nuno felt pieces I have ever seen and truly inspirational. Vart's shop is full of other wonderful nuno felted accessories including bowls, bags, and jewelry. I really recommend checking it out. And, if you wanted to maybe try your own hand at nuno felting we have both a beginning and advanced class coming up with our fabulous felting teacher, LeBrie Rich of PenFelt.

Finally, the last thing I have to share today is the work of Miami-based artist Frances Trombly, someone I remember hearing about in school who has recently been brought back to my attention. Using embroidery, weaving, crochet, and cross-stitch, Frances creates by hand things that are normally mass-produced. Here are a couple of my favorite pieces:

Mop, 2008
Hand spun silver wool and cotton, wooden mop handle

52 X 14 X 13 inches

Box (Broward Paper and Packaging), 2008
Hand-woven fabric, embroidery, packaging tape

Dimensions variable


(being in shipping, I love this one especially)

Untitled (pile), 2005
Hand-Woven and crocheted cotton

Dimensions variable


These are amazing, and I have to stop or I'm going to post them all. You can see the rest of her work on her website.

Well, ok, just one more:

Garden Hose, 2007
Crocheted cotton and metal hook

32 linear ft
Site Specific installation at Casa Lin, Miami


I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting back into the swing of things easily. Have a wonderful weekend and check back next week for another edition of Fashionknista. Until then, stay chic blogfans!

-Lindsay

PSSST!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Lindsay is busy, busy, busy right now trying to ship out all of the many copies of The Haapsalu Shawl that arrived two weeks early, so there won't be a Fashionknitsta Thursday this week. We're all bummed. But at least it's New Year's Eve, so there's a reason to party!

I haven't been posting lately because I've been pathetically ill. Hardcore customers know that I was out of the store for two whole weeks. Imagine the yarn withdrawal I suffered on top of my flu symptoms. It really wasn't pretty.

But, in super-secret news that I will only be revealing to blogfans... be sure to check next week's Willamette Weekly for a coupon for a FREE Happy Hour class.

Seriously. Don't miss it.

Other news? We've been firming up the dates for a visit from our favorite tweedy blogger and putting together another awesome year of Sock Clubbyness that has a really cool Portland-centric theme. We think it's gonna be fantabulous.

Anyway. New Year's Eve is swiftly approaching and we'll be closing early... soon. Check back next week for a real blog post and another edition of Fashionknitsta Thursday. Until then, enjoy 2010!

Excitement abounds.

Quite literally, in our case.

Sandy Kay and I are just beside ourselves that knitters are interested in our (slightly crazy, we admit it) Holiday Happy Hour series. We were a little worried, as we scheduled the classes, that we'd end up staring at each other (alone, with no students) on Wednesday nights for the next month and a half.

How exciting is it, therefore, to have so many students already enrolled! Thank you for encouraging us in our madness, everyone :D

Not familiar with our Holiday Happy Hour series? Check out the article "TGI... Wednesday?" in our latest Newsletter for more information on what the classes will cover and how to enroll. Tonight marks the first class, and the focus will be Pam Powers' Ruffled and Ruched Scarf. We'll be teaching students the double needle cast on while sipping champagne. If you're registered for the class, we'll look forward to seeing you this evening!

Anyway, I just had to share. It's the little things.

Moving on, we have some fantabulous customer projects to share from the past week. First, we have a beautiful (and entirely sumptuous) Cherry Scarf from Kathy.

Made with the delectable Isager Alpaca 2 (yum! and currently on sale) and Tvinni 1 (not on the website... yet!). You may remember the Cherry Scarf pattern as a free pattern released by Isager in the Fall 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting?

If not, here's a reminder...


It's such a clever knit. Helga Isager (the designer of Amimono) is a creative genius. It has to be said.

I do wish we had a modeled photograph of Kathy's FO, but it seems our customers tend to hide or duck when the store camera is pulled out.

Unless, it turns out, they're in handknit costumes!

Like Kristen and Cody were at our last Sip 'n' Stitch. Yes, you are really, truly seeing two handknit costumes (well, the masks and mittens were handknit) that an intrepid knitter (Kristen) made to wear this Halloween!

The first, modeled by/ knit for Cody, is a Dr. Zoidberg mask and pair of lobster mitts:

And, alas, there is no pattern for the set. (I know you were thinking about it)

The second costume was H.P. Lovecraft's infamous monster Cthulhu, modeled by Kristen:

...and attacking Martha...

(I bet you didn't know that Cthulhu wore glasses until now.)

Luckily, Kristen based her mask off of the Cthulhuclava (a purchasable pattern), so I can point other adventurous knitters in the right direction. I just know I'm going to be seeing more of these around. Imagine skiing while wearing one - wouldn't that be an amazing photo op?

If a blog reader does attempt such a thing, I demand to see photos. It's only fair.

And that's about it for this week's update. Check back next week for more fantabulous customer (and staff!) projects. I myself am planning greatness this weekend in the form of a new Christmas Ornament Kit!

Until then, happy knitting!

A flurry of activity

I'm sorry we haven't updated you and the InterWebs in so very long... I went to Stitches West and planned to blog from there but got sick. It didn't work out in quite a number of ways. Luckily, my intrepid coworkers took photos for your visual enjoyment.

First, we have a shot of the Cool Socks! workshop with Lucy Neatby (she's the one with hot pink hair):

...which I understand was a smash hit. It certainly looks interesting (Lucy always includes video/ projector demonstrations, which you can see on the wall in the background).

Next, we have Sue's absolutely glorious Habu 110 pullover:

So named because she used the pattern from Habu Textiles' Kit 110 and substituted Handmaiden's Sea Silk in "Periwinkle" for the body and Habu Textiles' Gear Linen in "Black" for the hems. The finished effect was just amazing, and the photo hardly does it justice.

And, finally, we have Sarah's IP (in progress) Garter Stitch Aran Pullover, from the Japanese book Men's Knit:

Which is looking mighty impressive, if I do say so. Sarah mentioned that she had worried about the sizing of the pattern (as it is Japanese), but the sweater seems to be coming out perfectly roomy and (honestly) delicious. She's knitting it with Debbie Bliss' Rialto Aran in "Dusty Blue", which is not on the website yet I'm afraid.

Lastly, today, I took a picture of all the lovely cranes we've been sent (or given in person) for the knitnotwar 1,0o0 kal. Amazingly, three arrived from Boston just yesterday! And four from California a week or two ago. These cranes are just flocking in from all over the place...

Of which many are noticeably red. Interesting phenomenon.

Now, it's admittedly still a small flock of cranes (we have 22 at count). But I am told by our many hardcore customers, volunteers, and several staffers that there are many more cranes OTN or unfelted at home. Sandy Kay and I are also talking about hosting another KAL night or two in the next couple of weeks. We'd really love to make our goal.

But we shall see what happens over the next month. Check the sidebar for updates over the next week or so!

Lucy Neatby Trunkshow

We're getting ready for a visit from one of the funkiest knitters in North America to visit this weekend. Her trunkshow has arrived, the brightly-colored yarn and patterns are stocked and all we have to do is wait until Lucy arrives. Until then, here are some pictures of her extremely fun socks and Venus Rising Cardigan - all of the patterns of which are available for sale and her classes are still open for registration. Call or register online, if you'd like to snatch one of the last spots open!

Moving on with the show (thank you, Liz, for modeling on such short notice...)















I think my favorite are the Fiesta Feet (fourth photo from the top) and I might just have to get the pattern or take Lucy's Even Cooler Socks! class because she has a really cool technique I've never seen before on no-swatch sock knitting. Sounds interesting, huh?

slightly overwhelmed

We have so much going on at the store right now (what with the Holiday Special going out on Friday, visiting instructors to organize and the holidays approaching waaay too quickly), that everything is a little discombobulated at the moment.

On the subject of the holidays (and classes, technically), we can finally reveal the surprise ornaments from Sandy Kay's workshop last Wednesday:

The stocking was designed by Kristin Spurkland, the star by me and the wee Santa hat by Sandy Kay. And, yes, the Christmas ornaments will be available as kits (and another workshop!) for $12 ea/ or 3 for $30. The star pattern also has instructions for making a six-sided star or Mogen David, for those interested. The kits will be available online this Friday.

Let's see, let's see. We've got several Newsletter article updates:

1. Both of the Jamiesons of Shetland colorwork tams are sold out/ back ordered. Before I left the store on Friday, I made sure we had enough yarn for TEN tams. When I arrived yesterday morning... we had enough for one. Clearly I underestimated the level of interest in these two patterns. I'm sorry about that! We're working on getting the yarn and patterns back in stock ASAP. Please bear with us in the meantime.
   
2. Both of Jared Flood's intermediate knitting classes are FULL. There is a waiting list. Call us at 868-656-5648 (toll-free) with any questions. Also, if you want more time with Jared, he's agreed to a lecture on January 8th, 2009. Details are forthcoming. There will be an entrance fee (we're betting we're going to need to rent a very large space), part of which will go to charity. Stay tuned for more information.
   
3. Yes, the Holiday Special will be sent to all of our Newsletter recipients, I promise. Honest.
   

And, finally, Kandyce (Jenni's youngest) turned 3 months old today:

Aaaaww.

Feel free to plotz.

photographs under halogen

I figured that I better dash any hopes that you, beloved reader, might have had for decent photography immediately. The workshops with Miriam Felton this weekend were fantastic, the pictures of said workshops are significantly less so.

Anyway. I took the Introduction to Lace Design class and it was completely worth sitting for six hours, charting lace on teeny-tiny graph paper. I think we all learned new tips and tricks that will come in very handy with future projects.

But, before I begin to wax eloquent (trans. "bore you to tears"), I thought I might mention Sandy's upcoming Surprise Ornament workshop.

Tomorrow night (Nov. 12), 6:30 - 8:30pm, participants will knit one of three mystery Christmas ornament patterns and take home the kits for another two. The yarn above is used in the ornament I designed for the class. We still have a couple of spots left, if you want to make a special holiday gift for a friend or family member. Or, if you just want three really cool handknit Christmas tree ornaments for your own tree.

Now back to the lace, and bad halogen/ flourescent lighting photos:

We had quite a few early birds. They (well, the whole class) were treated to a display of many of Miriam's designs, which were arranged around the room for inspiration.

Once everyone had arrived and imbibed some caffeine, we were given several sheets of graph paper and blank charts. We were instructed to choose a lace motif (or two...) that we wanted to use:

Between everyone in the class, I think we had nearly every book on lace, stitch patterns and designing there is for knitters. Books were being passed left and right, charts were being diligently reworked and we were all getting writer's cramp.

By the end of the workshop, I had two charts (for two different shawls, I'm ADD). Here's the crazier chart I created:

Miriam seemed quite impressed with my display of lunacy. I forgot to get permission from the other students, so we won't be showing their charts today.

Next came the swatching:

Where we all tried out the first few rows of our individual designs and did one of many things: rip (I did that twice), change projects to cool down, switch lace yarns (again, twice), continue on with knitting, or...rechart. It was kind of interesting to see how people reacted to their own swatches.

All in all, I think everyone enjoyed the class and left happy with their designs. I hope so, anyway. I can't wait to see if all the participants finish their projects or go on to design something else.

And, with that little narrative, I am leaving you to work on the upcoming newsletter. Ooh, and on Thursday, maybe we'll have a photo or two of our mystery ornaments...

making html look nice

Well, as promised we have some interesting Sock The Vote results. And the ranking is (not surprisingly):

1. Michelle
2. Hillary
3. Cindy
4. Sarah
   

Michelle sold out within a day, and Hillary is likely going to be next. One has to feel a little sorry for the Republican gals, since it might be awhile before they go to good homes...

And, in self-congratulatory news, we have most of the Winter workshops online and open for registration! If you don't think that's something to inspire self-confidence, I challenge you to understand this gobbledygook:

See? Not so easy, is it? But completely and utterly worth the headache and confusion necessary to add a new instructor and class to the website.

Soooo, if you want to make this:

or this...

or maybe t h e s e :

You'd better register NOW, because space is very limited (15 students max for each of Jared's workshops) and it might be a while until any of these wonderful instructors can visit again.

And that's everything I can write for now. I still don't have Ruth Sorensen's upcoming classes up, and they're going to be doozies.

did you know silliness is contagious?

It is. Honest. For all that we're a serious business and attempt to appear professional, we at Knit Purl occasionally suffer from outbreaks of silliness. Case in point...

We had such a positive reaction to our felted window display, and received so many requests for a photograph without window glare, that we attempted to stage an impromptu photo-shoot.

Being located above the 45th parallel means our outdoor lighting in the fall and winter is scanty at best, so we had to arrange a curtain to prevent the sunlight from ruining the picture:

Which probably would have worked better if we had set up a frame and rod, but remember I used the word "impromptu". It worked relatively well, but it soon became apparent that our silliness was quite contagious...

As we started to infect perfectly harmless spectators, who left the scene giggling. At least it's not a permanent condition, right?

Well, for some.

Moving on to more serious matters, we have an absolutely gorgeous baby set knit by Fran for her newborn grandson:

The pattern is from the book "Knitting For Baby". Fran made the Cashmere Delux Hat, Cardigan and Baby Blanket. The entire set took 13 skeins of Joseph Galler Pashmina and about 6 months worth of knitting. Simply beautiful. It was such a pleasure to watch Fran cast on and continue to make progress and then come in with the finished cardigan and hat.

Thank you, Fran, for sharing with us!

I also had Natasha's first sweater on this demonic camera, but the photo-quality was so shoddy I didn't want to make Natasha's project look bad! It's amazing, with two other (professional) cameras in the store, I always manage to grab the tiny cybershot that hates everyone but Sandy Kay. Next time, I promise I'll get a real camera for customer photos.

And, before I go off to do real work, we agreed to remind all our lovely and loyal readers to VOTE! We don't care who, how, or why. I hate to quote a shoe company, but JUST DO IT.

Next time I'll let you know who won Sock The Vote.

Woolly turkey and new bags.

I bet you think we've got a new breed of fiber-producing animal lined up for your knitting pleasure. Alas, no. We do have, however, a fantastic new window display for the holidays. LeBrie Rich, felter extraordinaire, spent all of yesterday setting this lovely nonperishable holiday feast:

If you live in town, you really must come by and see this - even the salt and pepper and the candles in the chandelier are felted! It's just delightful. And if you're now thinking, "Ooh, I'd like to felt some mashed potatoes!", we are hosting several workshops with LeBrie this fall. Just check out the class list for more information.

On the subject of bags (long-time patrons know that we're a little bag-crazy here), we've got two new ones for you. Now, neither of these are on the website (yet!), but if you simply must have one now, drop by or phone and we'll hook you up.

First is the Namaste needle binder:

Not only can it store your needles and notions, it also has space enough to carry a project or two. It's the perfect traveling knitting bag. And it comes in three colors. Of course, since it's by Namaste, I doubt we'll keep it in stock for long. Remember when we had to start a waiting list for the Malibu?

Oy.

Moving past that trauma, we've got a revamped Lantern Moon project bag for your knitting pleasure:

The new and improved Maya. And, let me tell you, it is improved. Better, more durable (and attractive!) fabric and exterior pockets make this perfect for small projects like socks and baby garments. This will be another one that'll fly off the shelves, easily.

Of course, we just got the preview for the Winter line of new Lantern Moon products, and I cannot wait to start showing those off to all y'all. Mm mm mmm.

But that will have to wait until later.

An Ice Cube Tray and Yarn

To start off our SKIF Knit-a-long out right, for those trapped underneath something heavy and can't make it in on Tuesday nights to hangout and get your SKIF knit on, I present to you today's topic:

Choosing yarn

I know it sounds absolutely thrilling. Right now one of you is thinking, "If I can pick out my own socks in the morning I can certainly manage choosing a yarn that I love."

Au contraire, mon frère (and mon soeur). Choosing yarn is sometimes as hard as finding that perfect bottle of soft drink to go with backyard barbecue. Would you pair Jolt cola with Brats? How about Chocolate Yoo Hoo with German style potato salad? I didn't think so.

So let us just consider for a moment the weighty (worsted-weighty) decision you are about to undertake and let's travel to the magical world of the Standard Yarn Weight System as brought to you by those wacky kids at the Craft Yarn Council of America (cue music).

The SKIF patterns are knit at gauges from 4 to 4½ stitches per inch on US needle sizes 8 or 9 (4.5 or 5 mm). If you were to create a garment from just one yarn for these patterns, you would choose a worsted (or Aran) weight yarn. In the land of yarn, this is medium weight.

However, you are no sissy. You are going to take on the full-throttle joy of knitting a SKIF International pattern for the full Monty effect so you choose multiple fine gauge yarns. (Deep in your psyche your alter ego sports a bicep tattoo that features yarn and needles with the old-time banner caption of "Balls of Silken Stainless Steel".)

Now here comes the perplexing part: how do you find fine gauge yarns to equal a worsted weight?

Think of the worsted weight in terms of its parts (I won't use the word fraction here because as I think about typing it I hear cogs grinding and springs sproinging in the collective minds of the math-phobic masses). Think of worsted weight yarn like an ice cube tray! As illustrated here:

Does your brain-machine feel better now?
Worsted weight yarn is composed of many skinny yarns called plies just like the tray is composed of several little ice cubbyholes (what else can you call the individual hole that makes ice other than a cubicle? I already lost half of our two readers with the math reference. I don't want to loose the other one with office-speak). Most worsted weight yarns are about 8-ply. About is a very important word. Sometime the crafty mill-mongrels will make really pretty worsted yarn that is single-ply, double-ply, and whatnot. But for illustration purposes we shall pretend all worsted weight yarn is the same and is made from 8 plies. As we have taken the trolley to the land of make believe, we shall also pretend lace weight yarns equal a single ply.

Worsted = 8 plies
Lace = 1 ply
Ergo 8 strands lace = 1 worsted yarn.

HURRAY! Whoopee! Yay we did it!

Not so fast my young Padawan. We used a word of infinite magical power. We used the word: about. The reality is yarn is made by madmen, purchased by the insane, beloved by the stark-raving mad, and coveted by the crazier-than-owning-three-vacuums (I fall into the last category... none of them work properly either but that's a story for another day). Due to this unhinged quality in the world of knitting, you might find that seven, six, or even five strands of lace can equal a worsted weight yarn. You may decide you aren't feeling the lace weight love and want to use sport or double knitting (DK) weight yarn. How do you manage that?

You let go of the control and dare to imagine:

Lace = 1-2 ply
Fingering = 2-3 plies
Sport = 3-4 plies
DK = 4-5 plies

Your head might be swimming at this point. Take the edge off with some fresh yarn stash enhancement. Don't worry we'll wait.

So now that you have some fresh stash, the next thing you do is prune some of your old stash-beast to go with it. Take those single skeins that you bought "just because" and those leftover skeins and sort them by color. Pick your favorite color(s) then sort that pile by animal/vegetable. Anything that is the hair from an animal goes into one pile and everything else (including silk) goes in the other. If you have a blend use the primary fiber as a guideline. Choose the yarns that seem to go best together, but make sure you choose a some of each: animal, vegetable, smooth, and textured yarns. The combination you choose will make your garment completely unique. If all this gives you a headache, don't fret. Tomorrow's post will show you examples of how to blend and mix your yarns together.

Until then lets see some examples from real live coworkers:

Fyberduck is using Joseph Galler's Inca Cotton in Ecru for "Neptune".

Inca Cotton=Worsted weight=8plies

Here is a great example of the use of the word about. Below is "Martha" in Tsumugi Silk Combo carried with doubled Sea Silk by SandyKay:

Tsumugi Silk Combo=Fingering Weight=3plies
Doubled Sea Silk= Doubled Lace Weight=2plies x 2

That's crazy! SandyKay is making her's with 7plies! Aaaaaaa!!!! Panic! Panic!

Feel better? Did you get it out of your system? There's no need to panic because she's getting gauge so there is no need to worry.

This one is a whole bucket of crazy... like owning-three-vacuums crazy:

I have taken my stash apart and grabbed all the silly little leftover balls of lace weight mohair and sock yarn and added some Tsumugi Silk and Bamboo from Habu, Flaxen, and Alpaca 1 for my Zena. Who knows, the urge to buy more yarn might come on me again and I might just add something else.

The patterns require anywhere from a pound to a pound and a half (.5 to .6 kilo) of blended yarn. In terms of yardage (or meter-age for the rest of the world) that is approximately 890-1350 yards (815-1230 meters).

The nice thing about the patterns are they emphasize and encourage knitters to just go with the flow and think of the experience like a Sous chef thinks of cooking: blend, mix, experiment. Some of the tips offered in the patterns are: "Be glad when the shop runs out of your dye lot" and "Keep switching yarns the whole way through".

Think of it as an opportunity for anarchy.

For those of you Anarchists out there who want to post pictures and progress on your own SKIF knit, write a blog post on this all inclusive blog: skifkal dot blogspot dot com!