New Pattern: Mimi Shawl

I'm really excited to be publishing the Mimi Shawl today! This pattern has been in the works for a while, and finished testing over two months ago! There were a lot of things that delayed me, most of them being busy with other things. Then I realized that my incredibly talented photographer friend Katy Doyle was coming to town, so I waited to publish the pattern until I could get her to photograph it. This is extremely rare, but I'm actually in my own pattern photos! Crazy! 

Oh, you want me to actually tell you about the shawl? 

I wrote this shawl for three weights: lace, fingering, and sport. The yarn in the photos is Lotus Yarns Mimi, which is 100% pure brushed mink. The minks are brushed, so no minks were killed to make this shawl. The pattern has both written and charted directions for the lace, and I made a handy table with stitch counts for the eyelet portion. The table came about because I made errors in the pattern, and during testing my testers were having a terrible time because of the errors, so I made this table so that they could at least make sure they had the correct stitch counts. Even after correcting all the errors they liked the table enough that I decided to put it in the final pattern as well. Hopefully it's as helpful to everyone who knits it as well. 

Famous...Not really...China

I did this interview just weeks before leaving China, and totally forgot about it. In a moment of vanity I googled myself...and saw this picture. I look really washed out...I guess I need to wear make-up eh?

Anyways, if you want to read the dorky article and see an unflattering photo, here you go!

http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/expat-life/interview-getting-crafty-beijing-stitch-n-bitch/

And yes, that's the same unfinished Freddie Krueger sweater that was in this post.

New Pattern! No Name! Help!

Hi everyone,
So once again I have a pattern without a name. This is for a lovely shawl, that is knit from the bottom up in garter stitch and lace faggoting.

I'm showing some truly beautiful photos of Lauren Harrington wearing the shawl, and the photos were taken by Katy Doyle. The photos were taken in Durham, NC.

CONTEST!
Think of a name for this pattern by Friday Aug 31. I will pick my favorite name, and that person will win any pattern from my library for free. Why won't you win this pattern? That's a secret... for now.

Bunny Consoles a Depressed Dog

Bunny Goes Snipe Hunting

Bunny Goes to a Family Reunion

She doesn't know she's adopted. 

Bunny Meets The Hulk

"I thought he'd be taller..."

Bunny is Interrogated

Bunny

My friend Meaghan made this bunny for me when we were in the Peace Corps in Armenia together. I don't know what the pattern is, or what yarn she used, but I know bunny has been through a lot. When I first got bunny she helped me to teach prepositions to my Armenian students. We would play 'Where's Bunny?" "Bunny is in front of the table." "Bunny is under the chair." You get the idea.

Now Bunny has a new purpose. To help me procrastinate work. Yes, so for the next few days, or maybe longer if this entertains me, I'm going to post some pictures of the adventures of Bunny. Why? Because I want to, Silly.

So, without further ado, I introduce: Bunny.

Penelope the Apathetic Pin Cushion

When I first started knitting I used to knit a lot of toys. I couldn't handle the commitment of a larger project, and toys really helped me to learn and understand knitting construction. Even when I first started knitting I had trouble following patterns. I insisted on making things up.

This is Penelope the Apathetic Pin Cushion. I'm sure most of you will recognize it as one of  Rebecca Danger's patterns. Penelope was originally made for my now husband then boyfriend. She wears her heart on her sleeve and unlike me  has no mouth so she can't talk back. She also has a stylish bow. I guess she's a knit monster version of Hello Kitty. I recently requisitioned Penelope and began using her as a pin cushion. In addition to being inanimate she has no mouth, so she has yet to complain.

Warm N' Fuzzy

My goal is to post on this blog at least once a week. I failed...I am the worst. Yes, I know.

Anyways...

What makes you feel all warm and fuzzy?

For me there are a few things, and one of them is...YARN.

And guess what? There's a new yarn shop in Cary called Warm N' Fuzzy.

This shop is adorable and carries a lot of yarns that are not easily found in the Triangle. I would definitely recommend that you stop by. 

Oh, and something else that's awesome, I'm going to be teaching classes there starting in September! 

Here are a list of the classes I'll be teaching

September: 

Beginning Knitting - cast on, bind off, knit, purl, you know, the basics. 

Recognize & Fix Mistakes - being self taught I made a lot of mistakes, and then I taught myself how to fix them. Now I want to share these skills with everyone else!

Miya Shawl - see it here. We'll also discuss how to customize the pattern.

Children's Knitting - It's what it sounds like: knitting with kids. Don't give kids rocks, give them pointy sticks and string silly!

October:

Swatch & Block - how & why to do it properly, so you never have a sweater that's 2 sizes too big...or small

November:

Beginning Knitting - cast on, bind off, knit, purl, you know, the basics. 

Cast Ons & Bind Offs - Oh the options! Learn the cable cast on, tubular cast on, provisional cast on, sewn bind off, picot bind off, and crochet bind off.

Design Your Own Shawl - you bring yarn of any weight (ok, not Aran, let's not be silly) and pick a shape, deep triangle, shallow triangle, or half circle, then you find a stitch pattern (or 2 or 3), then we do a lot of math together, and then you knit your very own one of a kind shawl pattern! 

Fingerless Cashmere gloves..these are still unpublished, but I've posted photos of them here and below

See the whole list of classes offered (all the other teachers are Awesome, yes, with a capital A) and they offer crochet classes too! Warm N' Fuzzy Class List

Do you live in the area and have an idea for a class? Tell me. I'm sure one of the fantastic teachers (or possibly me) would be happy to offer it. 

Oh, and I almost forgot! 

Come hang out with me in real life (GASP!) We have knit night every Thursday from 7-9, and most weeks I'll be there all day on Thursday and for knit night!

New Pattern: Katy & Kevin Cowl

Once again I cannot share any of my WIPs, so instead let me share with you a brand new pattern!
This pattern has actually been finished for MONTHS. I knit the sample after meeting Mira from Baah! Yarns  way back in January. I submitted it to a magazine, and then promptly waited 6 months to hear that it had been rejected. That was sometime in June. I finished writing the pattern and had it test knit and that was all done by the end of June. Just today I finally finished making the changes from my tech editor, and decided it was time to publish!

I know it's a little early to be thinking about Fall, but here are 3 good reasons why you should start knitting fall accessories now.
1. They are small and portable, and thus good travel/vacation knitting
2. Once it actually starts to get cool you will be busy knitting things that really keep you warm, like sweaters and blankets.
3. This pattern is awesome and unisex, so even if you don't know exactly who it's for you will have a great gift.


This pattern is named after my friends Katy & Kevin Doyle, no, they are not siblings, they are a couple! They are also the amazing team behind all the lovely photography you see. (the crappy photographs are mine, the good ones are theirs). They are also the models in these photos!

Katy & Kevin Cowl