Kristen TenDyke's Blog

Tomten Sweater

2009-10-30T13:47:40Z

Tomten Sweater

October 30th, 2009

Yesterday I had the 'opportunity'? of weighing the broken bags at CEY for their annual inventory. And while doing so, it was VERY hard not to fall in love with so much of the yarn. I pulled asside 10 hanks of Renaissance—9 teal and 1 brown; 10 hanks of teal Inca Alpaca, zillions of balls of Princess in all sorts of colors, some Montera Heather hanks, and some Classic Silk. I had a printed list of what I'm planning on knitting for Christmas gifts with me and made sure that I only choose yarn for projects I had in mind. Of course, many more projects CAME to mind while doing that… I tried to resist many of those, for the sake of my walet.

The 10 hanks of inca had me stumped. I absolutely LOVE the color, but couldn't for the life of me, figure out what to make with 10 hanks of it. It's a color I thought James might like, so I began searching around for men's patterns, to see approximately how much yardage was needed for a sweater, and 10 hanks was not enough. I decided to return the yarn to its home in the CEY *toybox* as we call it.

I did however find this great sweater design by Elizabeth Zimmerman, adapted to an adult size by Jared Flood. I sent the link to James and he likes it. So, now I'm searching for the right yarn. He likes the color of Jared's original, but I'm concerned about the scratchiness of the Beaverslide tweed Jared used. James is pretty sensitve to itchy wool, so I'd rather not use an itcy tweed for his sweater.

I looked around Hub Mills Store for an alternate tweed in a similar weight, and came across a new yarn by Tahki—Sedona. It's a nice yarn that reminds me a little of CEY's Waterlily, in that it has a stretchy, elastic-like bounce to it. It is much more of a tweed however. Tonia, the store's manager said Sedona's a new yarn, so I'm a little disapointed with the limited color selection. I brought home 1 hank of each the dark grey, which has a blueish tint and the light grey (neither of which is shown in that link I provided above). I've photoshopped one of Jared's images above to represent these colors.

I'm also considering CEY's Portland Tweed yarn, which I think is a dream to knit with, but I'm keeping in second place because it's not as much of what I'm visualizing as Sedona. It does have a much better color selection though. The reds shown above are a photoshopped representation of 5038 Major Brown and 5058 Ruby Red.

Does anyone have any other non-itchy tweed yarns, with a bunch of colors to choose from?

A door for a tiny office:

2009-10-26T17:12:40Z

A door for a tiny office:

October 23rd, 2009

It's hard for me to believe that it's been a month since my last update. Time's been going by so quickly, and I've been doing so many different things. For the last month James and I have been living in an extended-stay hotel while our little house gets finished up. We're estimating it to be completed, and ready for its maiden voyage on November 1st. There is a spectrum of emotions involved with that… I wouldn't know where to begin—anxiety, excitement, fear, joy… you get the picture. We'll stay in New England for about a month, but are planning to head south for the winter. It's been hard finding a place up here that will let us hook up to a water supply during the brisk winter.

I'm beginning to think about how I'd like to decorate my tiny office space, and I remembered this lacy curtain splashed with buttons. I really love it, and think it'll be a great addition to my little space. I love that it's see-thru, so it won't feel so isolating. I'm envisioning it being my "door", as I think I'd like to have something to close when I'm in work-mode.

Speaking of work-mode. I spoke with my boss today about continuing to do what I do at Classic Elite while I'm on this adventure. She's open to the concept, and we're going to see how it goes. I know what I need to do, and what she expects of me. It's up to me to be sure that happens in order for this all to work out. And I want nothing more than it to work out. So, I'll need a button curtain.

Website redesign and the last month.

2009-09-23T14:37:45Z

Website redesign & the last month.

September 23rd, 2009

As you can see, I've started redesigning my website (again). I had done it last month some time, but each time I would visit, I would cringe at how busy it felt. So, this time I've tried to simplify it, and make the navigation a little easier by putting the links below the header, rather than in it. I still need to learn a little php in order to get the links working the way I want them—as tabs.

As you wander through the site, you will stumble across pages that still look like the old layout—I'm slowly working through them—one at a time. It's rediculous the way I set this whole thing up... html. Bah. I have some books on MySQL and php that will hopefully help me learn more about databases and how to catalog everything to make it all MUCH easier.

So, thanks for your patience!

I haven't been posting here much... but I've been posting more frequently on one of my other blogs about my raw transition and reiki—if you're interested in reading.

And last, but hardly least a design that was recently published in the Fall issue of Knitty.com. I designed this Renaissance sweater for my sister, Kerri, who was kind enough to be the model.

Some crazy life & a new pattern.

2009-09-01T12:38:47Z

Some crazy life & a new pattern.

September 1th, 2009

So, it's September first... James and I are out of our apartment—well, mostly out, there are still a few things we need to take care of today. Our little house isn't completed yet, so we're not yet moved into there... During the weekend, with some help of our fabulous friends and their truck, we moved most of our stuff into storage, then last night we (and our kitties) checked into an extended stay hotel-like place—where we'll be staying for the next month. The kitties adjusted really quickly to the studio-apartment sized living quarters. Once we stopped moving things around, they came out from under the bed and did a little cautious exploring. Other than the occasional spook from an unfamiliar noise, they seem pretty comfortable now. I'm really surprised. Read more about the little house adventure…

Somehow I was also able to publish a new pattern this weekend! The Montera Felted bag that I showed to you recently now has a pattern available. I also sent out the first e-mail to my newsletter subscribers. If you're curious about it, take a look here, and if you're interested, you can subscribe at the top right of this page.

Kristen TenDyke

2009-08-15T13:25:00Z

An e-mail newsletter

August 15th, 2009

I'm working on putting together a monthly e-mail newsletter, and I'd love your help in figuring out what to include in it. Since you're the audience to the newsletter, I didn't know who better to ask! :)

Would you mind taking a few minutes to answer some brief survey questions (there are less than 10)?

This is the sample e-mail I've come up with using one of my existing designs. My plan is to feature a new design each month.

Thanks for your help!

Bursting with creativity, but no yoga

2009-08-12T19:13:06Z

Bursting with creativity, but no yoga.

August 12th, 2009

So, I haven't been into the yoga studio more than twice in the last month... and while my body isn't feeling the best, I am noticing a creative BOOM. Designs have been flowing through me quite easily lately... and while I don't want to jinx anything by mentioning it, I just have to talk about it a little because it baffles me slightly.

I'm noticing a trend. Lots of yoga means very little designing, and little yoga means lots of designing. I can't help but wonder about the relationship between the two. Is the energy used when doing physical yoga the same energy I use to design? Is it a creative energy? What is it about the LACK of yoga that lets creative energy flow more freely? I'm truly baffled, it seems backwards. You'd think more yoga would increase creative energy... maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Yoga makes me feel like a million bucks. After a long session I can feel like a peaceful blob of jello—quiet, calm and floppy—or a high-energy honey bee, buzzing around with super-speed productivity. Maybe that's the problem—that there's an imbalance between how I am before and after doing yoga? Maybe the ups and downs disrupt the delicate balance that is necessary for creative energy to flow? When I'm not doing yoga, my energy levels are relatively consistent—no highs—no lows. Is that what is needed for creative energy to flow through me? Who knows—I don't, I'm just speculating.

This seems to be a constant experiment for me, and this trend between designing and yoga seems to be consistent.

Is there anyone out there who's noticed this same pattern happening in their own life? How do you deal with it?

So... it's not the right size

2009-08-09T20:10:10Z

So… it's not the right size

August 9th, 2009

I finished!

It's also, not the right size for how I *intended* my laptop to fit into it. However, it I put the laptop into it the other way, it may still work.

What I learned:
1. Hand-felting a swatch takes much less time than hand-felting an entire bag. I'm not sure I enjoy hand felting large objects...

2. If the felted item is knit in fair isle, knit the swatch in fair isle. (for some reason, I knit a single color stockinette stitch swatch and figured that would work. Obviously my math turned out all wrong, so it didn't work)

3. I like felting. I can see how this may become an addiction to some people.

Overall, dispite the size discrepencies, I'm very happy with how it turned out. I've written the pattern down, and kept track of the size of the bag before felting and after felting so now I know more accurately what the felting ratio is.

Is this a pattern you guys might be interested in?

Trying my hands felting.

2009-08-09T13:03:54Z

Trying my hands felting.

August 1st, 2009

I recently bought a refurbished Macbook Pro with a 17" monitor. I absolutely LOVE the thing, and I'm so happy I decided to go with a laptop, and sell or get rid of my desktop computer. I haven't done so yet, but once James and I move into our little house, it'll be necessary for the desktop to go away.

To honor my new laptop, I've decided to design it a felted laptop bag. I really don't have very much experience with felting, so I'm somewhat nervous as to how this is going to end up. If it doesn't fit, oh well, I'll still have a pretty neet bag, and I can try again. None-the-less, the process of making this has been pretty fun so far.

I installed Knit Visualizer on the laptop on Friday and drew up the chart you can see in the image above. Generally I'll use Illustrator for all my charting needs, but I used Knit Visualizer this time because I really wanted to be able to see how the design would look in the felted gauge... and that's something I haven't yet been able to adjust in the grid in Illustrator. If anyone knows how, I'd love to hear it! :)

I'm almost done the knitting part. Just about 2 more inches to go. Then I seam and felt! Oh, how exciting. Hopefully I can finish it today... but I do need to go look for a door for the little house at some point.

Speaking of the little house. James and I have some more updates on our escape-from-density blog.

100 things about me

2009-08-07T14:14:45Z

100 things about me

August 7th, 2009

1. I learned to crochet from my mother when I was around 8 years old.
2. I taught myself to knit after seeing a job listing for a yarn company seeking a graphic designer.
3. I never really *knew* what I wanted to be when I grew up, but what to do next has always come pretty easily to me.
4. Every day I strive to eat as much fruit as possible.
5. I began transitioning toward eating vegan on May 1, 2009.
6. The only animal products I haven’t been able to let go of yet are raw tuna (in sushi) and the occasional cream cheese on an egg-free bagel.
7. I enjoy math—always have.
8. I treat my body to at least one yoga class each week—hot, power prana.
9. I don’t drink enough water.
10. I love cats, and think dogs are mostly annoying and needy.
11. I will someday become self-employed.
12. I’m afraid of moving far away from my parents.
13. But I’m drawn to the west coast.
14. I wear flip-flops all summer—from when the snow melts until it snows again.
15. I hate my commute for so many reasons.
16. I prefer knitting with straight metal needles above all else.
17. I try to visit my mom, and my dad once a week each.
18. Meditation is something I’d like to get in the habit of doing.
19. When I was very young, I designed clothes for paper dolls and crocheted for Barbie.
20. The very first things I designed with yarn were crocheted slippers. I was probably about 10, and usually only made 1 because I couldn’t remember what I did to make the second one.
21. I couldn’t read a crochet pattern until I learned to knit.
22. Whenever I don’t go to TNNA, I wish I had.
23. When magazines offer royalties as a payment option for designs, I’ll submit to them first. (Interweave & Twist Collective, to name a few)
24. I was once a CVS 1-hour photo-lab manager.
25. I loved working in a 1-hour lab, and often have dreams that I still do it.
26. My first job was as a *page* at a local library. I shelved books and checked books in and out.
27. I’m a pretty spiritual person.
28. Taoism and Buddhism are the closest *religions* to what I trust.
29. Most days I aspire to eat over 15 bananas.
30. I hardly ever finish projects I begin for myself.
31. I’m alright with #30. For me, it’s the process, not the destination.
32. I often get the urge to do a handstand, but have never successfully done one.
33. I don’t drink coffee, soda or anything else containing caffeine.
34. I don’t like, or trust the U.S. medical system.
35. It bothers me that I am required by state law to have health insurance.
36. I’m not sure if I ever want to have kids. Certainly not right now.
37. I love to ski, but don’t have anyone to ski with.
38. My hair was in dreadlocks - from April 19, 2008 to July 31, 2009. Now it’s really short.
39. I have 1 full sister and 1 half sister (we can all crochet and knit).
40. I generally don’t feel strongly one way or the other.
41. I was a girl scout from first grade until high school.
42. I’m comfortable with my weight.
43. I strive to eat a low-fat, high-raw/vegan diet to feel the best I possibly can, to have energy, and so I can enjoy my yoga practice much more than if I didn’t eat this way.
44. I took French in Jr. High, but I can only speak English fluently.
45. My friends call me Sam.
46. Kristen is my professional/family name.
47. Sam is my fun, earthy, spiritual, yogi name. I write it sAM.
48. I love camping - in a tent.
49. I’m terrified of the dark when I’m camping—it’s something I’m working on…
50. I compulsively check my e-mail. I won’t get an i-phone because of this.
51. With enough time, I tend to get comfortable wherever I am. Then I don’t want to leave.
52. Our television isn’t connected to any sort of TV feed… cable, rabbit ears… nothing.
53. We only watch DVD’s.
54. I’ve seen probably about 90% of all The Simpsons episodes. Many multiple times.
55. I don’t like scary movies.
56. I have a peanut butter addiction.
57. I know how to change my car’s oil.
58. I want to have my own mango tree.
59. I don’t like using forks—I often eat with chopsticks instead.
60. I don’t buy greeting cards.
61. I enjoy crocheting more than knitting, but enjoy writing knit patterns more than crochet patterns.
62. I work best with a tight deadline.
63. I enjoy a challenge.
64. My biggest challenge with designing is designing something simple.
65. I think knitting with size 2 addi-turbos and light cashmere is the best feeling ever.
66. I think air conditioning is very un-natural, and believe my life would be fine without it.
67. Because of AC, I often wear my winter sweaters more in the summer, while at work, than I do during the winter.
68. I enjoy being in nature.
69. I love picking fresh fruit—blueberries, strawberries, apples… nom nom nom.
70. I work at Classic Elite Yarns—began as the graphic designer, now I am one of the tech editors.
71. I love tech editing and writing patterns.
72. I think it’s great that there is a medium (knit/crochet) that allows me to create using logic and math.
73. I inherited a love for Jeeps from my father.
74. Pam Allen, Ysolda Teague, Kristin Omdahl, Jared Flood, Cookie A, and Robyn Chachula inspire me.
75. I’ve noticed that when I’m designing a lot, I’m not doing yoga, and when I’m doing yoga a lot, I’m not designing.
76. I’m constantly working at finding and maintaining a link between yoga and knitting.
77. I’m a mac person. Always have been.
78. I save all my scraps of yarn, knot them together into a ball of yarn. This is something that has been made with one such ball of this yarn.
79. After a design is done and published, I rip out the swatch and add the yarn to the above ball of yarn.
80. I prefer e-mail over the phone.
81. I rarely answer my phone. If people leave messages, I’ll call them back. If not, then it probably wasn’t important, and I’m glad I didn’t bother answering.
82. I like making lists.
83. I sometimes wish I could abandon society and go live in the woods.
84. I trust my boyfriend to cut my hair.
85. It takes me a long time to get to know and trust people.
86. I don't enjoy working in an office environment. But it's better than retail.
87. My ideal job would be to work alone in a creative environment and communicate to people via e-mail.
88. I have a niece.
89. I never had any desire to design for babies until she was born.
90. I rarely knit 2 socks, unless I knit them both at the same time.
91. I generally gravitate toward neutral/natural colors, but have recently been trying to add more color into my life.
92. I continuously dyed my hair from seventh grade through my third year in college.
93. I had a range of hair colors: red, blonde, black, green, blue, purple, and some interesting combinations there-of.
94. I won't put any chemicals into my hair anymore.
95. I peel my finger and toe nails. It's something I've done my whole life.
96. I occasionally stop peeling my nails for a few months at a time, then it starts again.
97. I collect rocks.
98. I strive to avoid using plastic bags whenever possible.
99. I buy local and organic whenever possible.
100. I love life.

Spontaneous-ness

2009-08-02T02:58:23Z

Spontaneous-ness

August 1st, 2009

On April 19, 2008 I began dread-locking my hair. It was an interesting journey that I would definitely do again, but during these last few days, thoughts of cutting them off have been very strong... so why not? It's just hair, it continues to grow, and change. Last night while enjoying some vegan burgers with James and our friend Kevin, I mentioned that I had been thinking of cutting them off, then it turned into my asking James if he'd like to do it that night. I felt very confident in my decision, and was amused how often James would double check before he began cutting... he was sure to begin right in the front so there would be no turning back. hehe.

CEY Fall 2009

2009-07-30T20:09:09Z

CEY Fall 2009

July 30th, 2009

It's been a really busy few last few months at work. Cecily Glowik MacDonald, Carrie Bostick Hoge and I have all been busy little bees working to get the Fall 2009 booklets tech edited, proofed and layed out. Finally, they're back from the warehouse and have begun to ship. I'm more than relieved to finally have that season completed and on its way into stores. It was a challenge.

There were close to 90 patterns throughout the 7 new booklets. Fall always has more patterns than Spring, but in the five years I've worked at CEY, I don't ever recall their being over 70 Fall patterns. I think we all learned a lot this season, and the future will hopefully run more smoothly and be less stressful because of it. I like to think that anyway, only time will tell.

Looking at the photos above, of the three designs I have in the fall collection, I'm reminded of the design process for one of them. The Miracle V-Neck Cardigan, pictured on the left, was conceived while sitting by a campfire, while on a weekend camping trip with James. I was swatching with some burgundy Miracle. There were some pencil scribbles, and erase marks covering a sheet of graph paper, which I interpreted as the stitch pattern. I love working in ribs with Miracle—it really pulls together, even after blocking and washing. I remember enjoying the process of figuring out how to get the 1 x 1 ribbing to flow evenly into the wheat pattern, while not decreasing too many, or too few stitches. If you've ever worked with Miracle, you may know that frogging it is nearly impossible—similar to trying to frog mohair—so more than one swatch, and ball of yarn was necessary to get this figured out.

That time spent swatching on this camping trip wasn't about designing the sweater, it was about learning how to make the sweater design work. I love technique. I love to challenge myself to use different techniques. While this design doesn't have anything terribly complex in it, it's certainly a fun collection of little things I enjoy doing—working without side seams; lace stitch patterns; ribbing in Miracle; and a cable trim around the neck edge.

Lately, I've been challenging myself to come up with simple things. It's a lot more difficult for me than you might imagine. Even if it begins as something simple, I often think of little ways of making it *better*—like, we could just add some short rows in there to make it flare...

Crochet Craze

2009-07-25T23:10:47Z

Crochet Craze

July 25th, 2009

It's hard for me to believe that it's only Saturday. I feel like I've gotten a lot done this weekend. Two patterns have been completed, I've crocheted a few model accessories for Classic Elite and I've continued working on this yoga mat bag. It began a few months ago, and I had something pretty spectacular in mind for it—however, it wasn't coming out the way I had anticipated. So, into hiding it went. I just pulled it out of hiding to give it another look and I've fallen in love with it.

I'm noticing lately that crochet has really become a comforting act. I recently designed something for an upcoming book that had to be designed, written and crocheted in about a week. Luckily I have some great knitters/crocheters around who are willing to take on such an endevour... but I found myself drawn to this design so much that I began crocheting one for myself too. It was very comforting to have a project to work on. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had an actual crochet *project* to keep me company.

Now that I've finished my version of that design, I found myself seeking another crochet project. I'm thinking that this yoga mat bag will be my newest travel companion. I'm using Classic Elite's Allegoro, and I'm about half way through the first ball. I'm surprised by how far along it has come with such a small amount of yarn. I don't anticipate the whole bag using more than 2 balls of yarn.

Alternate Plans

2009-07-23T15:13:57Z

Alternate Plans

July 23rd, 2009

So, it seems as though the Martin House (our Plan A) has indeed been sold. I'm pretty bummed about that... but with each closed door, another opens—I'm keeping myself optimistic. We're not exactly sure which of our other plans we will actually be going with yet... it all depends on which one works out the soonest.

James has talked with his uncle about building us something to match the Martin House, or something very similar. His uncle is in the process of finding out if he can purchase the materials for the amount we'd like to spend, so we're waiting to hear back from him. Once we hear back—yay or nay—then we can move forward with deciding which direction we're planning on going.

If he cannot build one for the amount we have to spend, then we're considering the Sonoma Shanty. This will give us a bunch of options.

• We could get the whole house built for somewhere around $25,000 (I believe, I can't recall the exact price)—that would take about 4 weeks for them to build.

• We could get the house, with the floor, walls and roof mounted on the trailer for $9000—that would take only a week for them to build. Then we'd have to finish building ourselves... while we live in it.

• We could get the kit, and see if James' uncle could build it up to a livable point before August 31st. Then we could finish it while we live in it.

I'm pretty sure all the Sonoma Shanty options mean James and I will be flying to California, renting a 1-ton truck and towing it back across the country. Building one here would save us that hastle, that's for sure.

In the mean-time, I've been working on lots of patterns, and keeping my knitters & crocherers pretty busy. I've even had the time to crochet myself up a little shawl from CEY's Moorland—my new favorite crochet yarn!

Little Houses!

2009-07-16T11:46:55Z

Little Houses!

July 16th, 2009

I was reading through the Tiny House Blog, and came across a post about a fellow knitter, Katie from Duo Fiberworks, who has a similar dream—to live in a tiny house. This is such a cute little cottage, and there's a gnome inside! Click on the photo to see more pictures.

The pattern is available in an 18 page booklet—yes, 18 pages.

So... What am I doing?

2009-07-16T00:33:08Z

So… what am I doing?

July 15th, 2009

In my last post I mentioned that James and I are working on downsizing... so, what does that entail?

Well, the lease for our apartment is up pretty soon, and our landlord has increased our rent by $50 a month if we decide to renew for 1 year. Frankly, that sucks. This landlord has already increased our rent $25—we were originally told one price by the real estate office, then when we were in the process of sigining the lease, we learned that it had been increased $25 because he had installed a washer and dryer for us to use... Personally, I think that he should have taken that into consideration when he originally decided on how much to ask for rent. But no. We're not going to continue living like this.

I recently went to a chakra-cleansing yoga workshop (which you can read about here), and for the 2 weeks following I have been having a hard time justifying the typical society in which we find ourselves—one of working 40 hours a week to send away a large check each month to some guy. That's not living, it's slavery—slavery to our stuff. I can't continue to live like this.

Then what are we going to do? James and I have formulated a very flexible plan, which involves us living in a tiny house... on wheels. It's not exactly a trailer, but it does hook up to a truck and can be pulled. Take a look.

This little house is the last one by this company, and there has been one buyer who's already beaten us to it. Fortunately for us, we've been informed by Julie, the woman selling it, that she's not confident that the sale will go through, and it will likely become available for us... it's a long story... and yes, we do have a plan B, and a plan C. This is the one I hope most-of-all to work out.

It's 8 feet wide by 20 feet long—yes, that mean's there is only 160 square feet of living space. I'm really excited about the idea of really lightening the amount of stuff I have, and working with only the necessities. I've packed up 3 trash bags worth of clothes, and I'm already starting to feel better. Deciding what to wear in the morning has become so easy. I'll be selling my desktop, my crappy laptop, and printers, and purchasing a refurbished MacBook Pro. I'm hoping to bring along most, if not all of my yarn stash... we'll see how well that goes over with James... If I have to, I'll store some of it at my parents until it's needed.

Today we gave the notice to the landlord, and I felt so relieved to finally know that in less than 2 months, we'll be moving out of his clutches. I do love this place, but some things, even nice ones, just aren't worth being chained down to have. I only hope that the rest of this process works out as smoothly as possible.

If you'd like to help us along on our journey toward financial independence, and happen to know someone who invests in Lending Club, please refer them to our loan, or pass along the word any way you know how! It's in the process of being funded, and there are only 6 days remaining for it to become completely funded. If it doesn't become funded, then we don't get it, which would make things quite a bit more challenging.

These next few months are going to be somewhat of a challenge, emotionally and physically, but I'm really excited about this goal and am willing to whole-heartedly perservere toward making it happen. I'll be sure to keep you updated.

(amusingly, James is playing some really bizzare triumphant music right now which feels very appropriate)

Down-sizing

2009-07-11T15:46:12Z

Down-sizing

July 11th, 2009

My boyfriend and I are in the process of downsizing... which means, I'm getting rid of a LOT of my things. When I began knitting, about 4 years ago, for some reason or another, I decided to keep all the swatches I've ever made. I guess lots of knitters do that sort of thing. I had hoped that someday I might be able to make a quilt out of them, or unravel them and reuse the yarn in something like this. But the time has come for me to realize that it's not something I have the time for right now, and we just won't have the space to continue hanging onto things that *might someday* become useful.

There are a lot of great stitch patterns, made in great, high quality yarns—lots of Classic Elite.

Do you want them? If you're curious to see what kinds of swatches I've collected, and have the ambition to possibly do something with them, then you're welcome to them! I can no longer keep them. Please just leave a comment here with what you might like to do with them, and on July 20th I'll decide who gets them! Be sure to include your e-mail address when commmenting so I can contact you back if you're chosen.

Color Fun

2009-07-04T13:28:18Z

Color fun!

July 4th, 2009

I don't play too much with color, so this little accident was a pleasant surprise. I've been working a lot lately... It's crunch time for me at CEY, so every breathing second that I'm there, I'm working hard. At home too, I have plenty to do—between tech editing and pattern writing, I'm a busy gal. Yesterday, I enjoyed my time away from the office by writing a pattern. One of my knitters/crochers, Jessica, is leaving for a very well-deserved vacation, and wanted to bring this project with her.

During the process of writing the pattern, I had to do a lot of swatching, to be sure that things would work out the way I envisioned them. Whenever I swatch like this, I don't really care what yarns or colors I use... I just pick up whatever's handy. In this case, it was some yellow Fresco. The orange part was a swatch worked up by Jessica, and the yellow was what I had on hand. The buttons—well, they were just sitting there on my desk...

When they were all put together, I thought the color combo was rather vibrant and fun... so I figured I'd share :)

In Anticipation of Summer

2009-06-10T17:20:13Z

in Anticipation of Summer

June 10th, 2009

Pattern ON SALE for the Summer—$5.00!

Last night, as I laid out my clothes for today (as I always do the night before I intend to go to a yoga class in the morning), I remembered that this little pullover exists. She's been sleeping all winter, but now that the warmer weather is upon us, she's come out of hibernation and is ready to be worn again.

After yoga, as I pulled it over my head, I fell in love again. The drape of Cotton Bam Boo, and the delicacy of the lace pattern are my favorite things about this sweater. It's such a great little thing.

So, to encourage more knitters to enjoy the pleasures of such a sweater, I'm offering the pattern for sale throughout the entire summer! Normally, it's $7.00, but now through September 22, 2009 it's on sale for $5.00 when purchased trough my website only.

Smooth Petal Socks

2009-06-05T19:04:54Z

Smooth Petal Socks

June 5th, 2009

Since the Cookie A web-letter went out on Tuesday, I've been thinking quite a bit about socks. I've purchased 200 grams of various types of sock yarns, and have begun to make another pair of the Petal Socks using Classic Elite's Summer Sox.

Summer Sox has some great self-striping colors, but I wanted to use a solid color, and since I already have a pink pair of petal socks, I figured green is the next best color! For me, choosing a color is always the hardest part of knitting. I went from a red wool, to a beige cashmere blend to green cotton. I decided on using Summer Sox mostly because I want to see these socks knit up in a smooth yarn. I think the sleek-ness of Summer Sox will really help show off the stitch definition, which is somewhat hidden in the original pair, knit in Alpaca Sox. Plus, this way I'll have a pair of Petal Socks for both cool and warm weather!

I'm usually a die-hard double pointed needle fan... but if I used them for these socks, I'd have to knit one sock at a time... and that dramatically decreases the likely-hood of my ever having 2 socks. So, I opted to try two 16" circular needles, which was a little challenging at first. Working the rib was pretty straight-forward, but when I started the leg pattern I realized that the beginning of the round shifts one stitch to the left every other round. While I did consider giving up on the two-at-a-time idea, I figured out that it's possible. The problem is that after working across the first sock on each needle, the next stitch—the stitch that needs to be moved to the left to move the begining of the round—cannot be removed from the other needle. It's trapped there by the other sock. BUT, I can still work a purl stitch into that stitch! Then, when I get to that point on the other needle, I just drop the stitch off the needle because it's already been worked.

In a little while I'll have to figure out how to move the beginning of the round 1 stitch to the right. But I'm pretty confident that it's something similar. We shall see!

Cookie A - Sock Innovation Reveiw

2009-06-02T19:22:20Z

Cookie A - Sock Innovation Review

June 2nd, 2009

Today I wrote up a little review for Cookie A's Sock Innovation book. Cookie designed a pair of socks in Classic Elite's Summer Sox which is also available (for free!), with the review, in the CEY Web-Letter.

It's a book I really enjoyed tech editing. It was challanging, and I learned a lot in the process. Just after finishing tech editing the book I was so inspired to use what I had learned. That's when I designed the Petal Socks.

So, needless to say, just now, after finishing reading through the book again, and refreshing myself with the content, I'm again inspired to design socks. Thank you for writing this book, Cookie. You're a great inspiration!!!