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Showing posts from 2011

Here's to a fruitful year!

In March this year I made a resolution to post at least once every week on this blog. I have to tell you that it was pretty tough to do at times. Sometimes I had to come up with something the morning off, before heading to work. Other times I used my lunch break to quickly write a post. A few times I had enough material to write 2 blog posts ahead of time and schedule them for the following weeks. I am quite glad that I did this, and that I was able to stick with this resolution. I'm going to do my best to keep it up for next year. I know I don't have a lot of followers, but I am so grateful to those of you who do follow and read this blog, and feel that I should be faithful to you all with my posting. Thank you for reading about my knitting exploits, for participating in my giveaways, for sending in comments, and for being so supportive of me as I work on improving my crafting skills. Here's to you all, the last post of this lovely year 2011. And what could be more fitti

Some more pretty things for Christmas and a coupon code

Last week some lovely people found my shop and ordered a few custom items from me. It's so exciting when I get purchases and orders from people who aren't friends or acquaintances. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE knitting for friends and family. However when someone I don't know orders something from me, there's a true sense of accomplishment and excitement that I feel. A few weeks ago I posted the pattern for the Procragratification Scarf, and listed that scarf on my Etsy Shop. A nice lady saw the scarf and asked for it in the Eggplant Colorway. I just finished it two days ago, blocked it yesterday, and got my sister to model it for some fun pictures. Here they are: I also finally got around to finishing a cream version of the Hurrah Scarf , and took photos of that scarf. And finally, a new forest green scrunchable scarf that will make a great gift for males or females on your list. The yarn is a 50/50 blend of wool and acrylic, and is

A call for help

I am so grateful to all of you who have been reading my blog, leaving comments and being supportive of my small knitting business. Now that the year is winding down, I'm trying to hit some knitting targets and meet some "secret project" deadlines. I finished a few items some weeks ago but didn't get the chance to photograph them and list them till this past weekend. The first is a Grey Unisex Scarf (now available in my Etsy shop ) with a big fat cable running along the side. I've received a lot of complaints from friends that I seem to only knit for women, so this scarf is my first in the "line" I'm working on for my male customers. The second item is the Fig Hurrah , a one color version of the Pompom Scarves (sans the pompoms) that I've been knitting. The color is Fig, and it's as soft and cushy as its cousins, but without the pompoms for those who want something simple and warm. It is also now available in my Etsy Shop . 

The Procragratification Scarf - Free Pattern

As almost all knitters will attest to, we always have a million works in progress (WIPs) that we need to finish. I have one that’s about 3 years old. However sometimes you want some mindless knitting that doesn’t require you to count stitches or lean over charts. I wanted to knit something late one night, preferably in bulky yarn, and something that would come out looking chunky and uber-fashionista. I had knit a moebius cowl using the fisherman’s rib a few times, and wondered what it would look like without the twist, and with a few more stitches. So, instead of working on the projects that absolutely must be done by early December, I took a size 13 circular needle and cast on for this scarf. Which is why it’s called the procrastination-instant gratification scarf - progratification scarf. I intended this pattern to be free, but then I got the news that my best friend had given birth to a stillborn baby boy. I would be very grateful if you made a donation in memory of Troy A.

Taking a break for this week

I was all ready to post today, but I just got some extremely sad news of a friend who lost her baby. We are separated by thousands of miles as we are in different countries, and I really wish I could be there for right now, to hold her, to cry with her, to hug her, and to just rock her till the pain dulls a bit. I would like to NOT post anything knitting-related today, to commemorate this baby's passing. I don't want it to seem like nothing has happened, because I'm sure she and her husband feel like their world has ended. If anyone has suggestions on what I can do to help them from so far away, I would appreciate it. Just yesterday I was talking to her, telling her I would send knitted items through a mutual friend for the baby. Just yesterday. I'm sorry guys. I'll be back next week God willing with a peppier update. As for today, please take a second and pray/send well wishes in your heart to my friend, her husband and their family. Thank you.

I got published!!!

I don't know if you remember sometime during this year when I mentioned that I had a few secret projects I couldn't talk about for a while. Well...one of them is out now so I can spill the beans. I got a pattern published in Interweave Knits magazine , one of the premier knitting magazines around! I'm so excited. They put up the preview of the patterns last week Friday so I tweeted about it and even put it on my Facebook page, but I thought it fitting to put it up on my blog today. My pattern is the Bobble and Eyelet Cowl, knit in Blue Sky Alpacas Bulky yarn, on US #15 needles (the yarn is a dream to knit with, by the way). It's a very quick knit, creating a super chunky scarf (that can even work as a wrap, see the pictures), and the bobbles and eyelets allow you to close the scarf, making it a chunky cowl/infinity scarf. Below are some of the pictures from the magazine. (PS: The actual color of the scarf can be seen in the magazine pictures. Mine were washed out by th

A little bit of selfish knitting?

I am singing with the Christmas Choir at my church this holiday season, and the colors we will be wearing are black and white with some gold or silver accent. As the knitting gods would have it, I had just attended the Interweave Knitting Lab held in San Mateo from Nov. 3rd to the 6th, and had just snagged 2 balls of Lana Grossa Lace Lux Yarn in Bronze Colorway from the Jimmy Beans Wool booth. I promise you that I had no knowledge of the color choices until AFTER I had bought the yarn. I got the yarn on Saturday and the first choir rehearsal was Sunday. I realized that the knitting powers that be had decided that I should FINALLY knit something for myself, so I set off to look for the best pattern to showcase this beautiful yarn. My search for the pattern that would work well with this yarn brought me to Xenia by Vanessa Smith. I have purchased one other pattern by this designer and although I haven't knit it yet, I am in awe of the stunning detail and simple twists sh

Some homespun cowls

This week's post is going to be a little shorter than I would like mainly because I've received some good news about 3 secret projects and so I have to get to knitting like nobody's business in order to make those deadlines. I also haven't been able to photograph 4 new items I finished (including a free cowl pattern which I'll put up as soon as I have it all written out.) Today's post is a short tour of my love affair with the Luxe Cowl by Margaux Hufnagel which can be found on Ravelry(click on Luxe Cowl) or on her blog here . I've liked this cowl pattern ever since I stumbled across it last year, especially after I modified it into an infinity scarf. My friend Shionda last year wanted a gift for a friend, and asked me what I could make with Lion Brand Homespun yarn which she had already purchased. I took the yarn, rooted through my stash, and found one skein of Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted in their purple colorway. I realized that knitting wit

The Pompom Chronicles Part 2

So after succumbing to the pompom/Last Hurrah scarf bug as I mentioned in my previous post , I decided to make a few more of the Last Hurrah scarves with pompoms attached. My next two finished scarves were the: Purple and Green Hurrah , knit with Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, in the Fig and Cilantro colorways. I'm really liking this scarf because the colors are very vivid and attention-grabbing. It looks like the perfect scarf for anyone looking to add a striking, colorful accessory to their winter wardrobe. The next one is the one I call the Neopolitan Ice Cream Scarf. I bought a hank of Cascade Eco wool for a design I was working on. When I received the yarn, I realized it was too thin for the pattern I had in mind, so I relegated it to the stash to wait for a more suitable project. Once I got into these scarves, I thought a pink/white/brown scarf would look, sort of like the colors in a Cherry Blossom tree. I went digging in my stash and found a lone bal