The BIG Botanical Knits Yarn Giveaway!

I am so appreciative of all of your enthusiasm for my new book, Botanical Knits. 

I am thrilled by how many projects  I see popping up on Ravelry.

I am overjoyed by all of your wonderful comments.

Thank you!

I have a little something for you in return...

A chance to win this big ole pile of yarn!

Included in this gigantic giveaway is...

-9 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Meteorite, enough to make up to size 44.5" of the 

Twigs and Willows Cardigan

-4 skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Magnolia in Spring Green for the Wrapped in Leaves Shawl.

-1 skein of Miss Babs "Yummy" 2 ply sock yarn in Funny Papers to make either the Ivy Trellis Socks or Mittens

-1 skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in Harvest to make the Forest Floor Hat.

-2 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Pea Soup Mix to make the Spring Foliage Mitts.

-2 skeins of Fibre Company Tundra in Mink to make the Twin Leaf Loop.

All yarns for this giveaway have been kindly contributed by the individual yarn companies. (Thank you!)

This is a whole lot of yarn and many hours of botanical knitting. To enter to win these fabulous skeins, please leave a comment (including your contact information) under this post by Midnight PST, March 10th. 

Only one comment per person please.

I will be announcing the winner on the blog on Monday, March 11th.

To gain an additional entry, post this phrase on Twitter:

"  I entered to win the Big Botanical Knits Yarn Giveaway on nevernotknitting.com. You should enter too! @nevernotknittin "

This is a joint-giveaway with Veronika Jobe from the Yarn On The House blog. She has even more Botanical Knits yarns on her site for you to enter to win, so be sure to head on over there next!

Click HERE.

Thanks everyone!

DRAWING NOW CLOSED. WINNER IS SUZANNE! CONGRATULATIONS!

There's No Place Like Home

A while ago, Thaddeus and I started looking for places similar to where we live, except in a warmer climate.

Where To Retire?

We were specifically looking for an area where we could afford to buy a second house that we would use as a vacation home until we retired.

We never did find a place where we wanted to live, more than where we currently do.  Except maybe Italy, but that wasn't going to work for us.

Our current area has great restaurants, excellent cinema and interesting entertainment options that are perfect for us.  Plus, it's very gay-friendly.

We have excellent fine cuisine restaurants, fantastic ethnic restaurants (Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern, Japanese and Mexican...if we just had a great Chinese restaurant, we'd be all set) and we even have great casual restaurants for burgers, pizza, etc.  We have some excellent art-film movie houses near us, as well as the larger 24-screen theaters.  And we have some amazing cabaret type venues for more obscure, but interesting acts.

We may just have to suffer through the Winter each year.

Current Crochet

I've been doing a lot of work on my current crochet blanket, even though it might not look like it.

I'm using a modified basketweave crochet stitch that is best described here.  I'm wishing I hadn't modified the stitch, but I'm not ripping out everything I've done up until now.  It will still make a great blanket.

Here's a more close-up shot of the blanket.

I'm using two different merino DK weight yarns and I think I'll just keep striping it up through the entire blanket.

A Selfish, Power-Hungry and Greedy World

I think if we could eliminated the above noted characteristics, the World would be just about perfect.

When Did "Christian" Start to Mean Self-Serving?
I always bristle when someone states they wish things were like they were back in the fifties.  Usually it's the most rabid conservative so-called Christians who want back the power of being a majority.

The fifties had some terrible things happening in them...the threat of nuclear holocaust one the biggest fears of people of that age, race and integration issues, homosexuality was still a mental illness and the start of unrest in Vietnam that eventually brought the U.S. into an awful war.  But they also had a friendly, community-oriented feel (in general) that seemed to care about how others in their community were faring.

Today, the fierce competitiveness (for just about everything), the rabidly ambitious people trying to better only themselves and the amazing amount of large-scale corporate greed has led to a complete breakdown in any sense of community.  In fact, any organized ways suggested to help bring back a sense of community are often labeled socialism.

I personally think that this overall sense of greed and selfishness has become the most important issue affecting our lives today.

It certainly was the reason that Wall Street almost collapsed and the big banks had to be bailed out.  Even the war in Iraq I'm convinced was largely started to make sure companies like Haliburton could make their quarterly numbers.

There are obviously many exceptions to this greed and selfishness.  Panera Breads is a good example of this with their recent Panera Community Cafes.  But what we need is more than just glimmers of hope...we need a wave of people deciding that the well-being of their community is almost as important as their own well-being.

Current Knitting
I finally finished the Koigu Linen Stitch scarf...almost.

I decided to do a sewn bind off, so the edging would be elastic and have the most possible chance of a nice soft ruffle.  Since the sewn bind-off requires quite a long stretch of yarn for so many stitches, I pulled off about 3 miles of yarn, and began binding off the 500 or so stitches.  I got up to here before I ran out of yarn:

Fortunately, with a little gentle blocking the "gentle ruffle" will come out quite nice.

I'm also considering just "hemming" the ends and binding in the yarn ends when I sew it up.  I honestly don't think the scarf lends itself to fringe.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Little Hints...

 There are two fun new children's patterns that are coming out shortly...

These new designs are very special to me. I look forward to sharing them with you soon.

You and your little one will love them.

Illustrations provided by JillZielinskiDesigns.com

Because I had to...

It's a funny thing being surrounded by beautiful yarn for 4 days straight. 

Let's get real here... how could I honestly leave Stitches West without buying just a little?

Being in the same booth with Lisa's amazing colorways.. was just a bit too much temptation to bear. 

I decided early on that these skeins had to be mine.

And no. I have not a clue what I will do with them. And no. I don't hardly ever use variegated yarn. 

But look at these! No explanation required, right?

Our booth at Stitches West was dangerously close to the Cephalopod Yarns booth and the first day I overheard one of the girls talking about "mini-skeins" perfect for the "Beekeepers Quilt."

That's all it took. I was over there in a flash buying up these 4 miniature little beauties.

The new booth that I found myself the most excited about out of all of the booths at the entire show was Spincycle Yarns. The first time I walked by, I was literally blown away by the sheer volume of gorgeous hand spun yarn. I *may* have even gasped out loud and talked to complete strangers about it that happened to be around me at the time. 

The yarn I picked is the "dyed in the wool" mill spun line that looks a lot like hand spun but has the even quality of a commercially spun yarn. I am SOO terribly excited to wind up these skeins and start swatching. You may see this yarn showing up in a future design.

Last but not least I found myself enamored with these adorable miniature sewn bags from the "A Needle Runs Through it" booth. I love this because is the perfect size for holding stitch markers, and well.. its just SO cute. I had to buy one for me and one for a friend. 

Just had to.

I had a wonderfully inspiring time at Stitches West this year! I am super excited about all of my new purchases and can't wait until I get a chance to play with all of these new goodies!

If you went to the show this past weekend, tell me in the comments what you came home with!

The Never Not Knitting Podcast : Episode 79 : The End of the Optimistic Knitter?

Episode 79

Shownotes:

Stitches West

Botanical Knits

Botanical Knits 2 Preview

Sprig

Episode About Sprig

Bare Branches

Flourish

Sunlit Autumn

Forest Foliage

Hanging Leaves

Verdure

Twigs and Willows Mitts

Life Cycle

Ivy Trellis Hat

Thicket

Ferns

Join My Email List!

Knit Your Own Zoo

Skeinz

Southlander

Rebekah's First Story

Rebekah's Blog

Join the Never Not Knitting Ravelry Group!

Join the Botanical Knits Ravelry Group!

Follow ME on Twitter!

Like us on facebook!

Enter to win this copy of Knit Your Own Zoo (provided by Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers) along with a skein of New Zealand Southlander yarn (provided by Skeinz) by leaving a comment under this post by March 15th. Please remember to include your contact information. Only one comment per person please! The winner will be announced on Episode 80.

Don't forget to check out our website botanicalknits.com for more information or to place your order for the new book, Botanical Knits 2! Pre-orders will be open on March 3, 10:00 am PST.

Thank you for listening!

Stitches West 2013 Recap

I am back from Stitches West and I have to say.. it was hard as expected.. but I had so much fun!

I loved the set up of our corner booth.

Lisa's yarn display was stunning as usual..

I absolutely loved sharing the experience with my daughter this year. She excitedly dressed up as "Annie" from the book Annie and the Swiss Cheese Scarf and had a blast at the book signings. She even made a new knitting friend at the show. :)

I was  so happy to hear all of the enthusiasm for my new Botanical Knits book! Many knitters stopped by the booth and showed me their projects or even came wearing the actual items!

I also got to see some friends old and new...

Audry from Bear Ears showing off her gorgeous Celestarium Shawl from Twist Collective Winter 2012.
The constellations in the night sky are represented in lace. So cool!

Podcasters Sharlene and Gayle. I adore the Yarniacs podcast! And Gayle is wearing her Pressed Leaves beret from Botanical Knits!

Eileen (Redsknits on Ravelry) as the self named "Crazy Coastal Knits Lady".
She brought 4 Coastal Knits garments to show me in person. LOVE.

My Mom and Dad came to the show too! Here's my Dad wearing his handknit sweater from a few years back.

Audrey Knight from Audknits.com here wearing her Sprouts scarf pattern from her new book, Reversible Scarves!

I also ran into this little cutie wearing the Very Cherry Dress that her mother knitted for her. So sweet!

Last but not least.. my baby boy made an appearance at Stitches West too.

When he wasn't hanging out with Lisa's adorable baby, Jasper....

He had a fabulous time making messes and running away from me as quickly as he possibly could.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this past weekend and said hello. I really enjoyed my time at the convention this year.. seeing friends, chatting with knitters.. and oh yes... buying yarn.

Check back tomorrow to see all of the fun stuff that came home with me!

:)

Knit Kit for Knewbie Knitter

Had to have more than three K's so it wasn't an acronym for the KKK.

This Year's Men's Spring Knitting Retreat

This year, for the first time, we've invited non-knitters to attend the event who are interested in learning to knit.  Yes, we're recruiting!

I'm putting together a little kit of things for the knewbies, that so far includes:

• Assorted straight needles
• Assorted circular needles
• Assorted basic yarns
• A beginner's book for knitters (I'm using Kristin Spurkland's Knitting Man(ual)...it has a lot of good new knitter stuff, plus the patterns are geared for men)
• Needle gauge
• Stitch markers
• Folding Scissors
• Cable needle
• Basting needle
• Project Bag
• Notions box/container

Anything else you can think that must be included?

In case you know of anyone interested, we have only 2 spots left in the retreat this year before we start a waiting list.  We've never come this close to selling out the event this far before May, so it's very exciting, and the group of guys we've assembled so far is quite amazing.  Also, any nominations for scholarships must be submitted by this Friday, March 1st to be considered!

Fortunately, registration for the West Coast Men's Fall Knitting Retreat and the Rocky Mountain Men's Knitting Retreat will both be opening soon as well.  Let me know if you want to be on the notification list for when registrations open for the retreats.

Current Knitting

I was able to make my way up to the neck shaping (just barely!):

See that little scalloped edge at the top?  That's the lowest part of the neck shaping.

But in case you think I'm completely pathetic, I was able to get a lot done on my surprise, secret project, and it looks like it might actually work out.  I'll keep you posted.

Entrelac Patterns Synthesis Sources On The Net For Reference

Entrelac is a very addictive technique  once you get into it! It  seem complicated at first because there are so many different pieces required to form the knit fabric. But once you've done it a time or two you'll understand how it works and it will become much easier for you. You could do each square in a different color if you really wanted to, or knit the whole piece in one color.

Here are some entrelac knitting patterns synthesis from various sources on the net and ravelry.com.
Harmonious colour combinations make your products look more beautiful. ^^

Just click on the Title link to take you to its page for more information. 

#1. Dancing Entrelac Cowl by Elizabeth Bartlett

#2. Entrelac Gloves Knitting Pattern

#3. Entrelac Tam by Mary Scott Huff

#4. Panda Entrelac Baby Hat

#5. Entrelac Sunburst Book Jacket by Cecily Keim

#6. Triangle Entrelac Shawlby Robbyn Kenyon. 
Free Ravelry download

#7. Domino Cardigan in Silke

#8. Textured Collared Vest designed by Kathy Perry.

#9. Garter Entrelac: Aria & Cotton Twirl Lone Star Hat

#10. Slippers Pattern As Entrelac

11. Entrelac Shawl by Jane Araujo.

This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

#12. Pencil Pocket

#12. Entrelac Tote Bag

#13. Entrelac Wrap

#14. Entrelac Afghan Knitting Pattern

#15. Entrelac Beret Knitting Pattern

Ravelympics Day 14: Wrap-Me-Up Pup

I've finished knitting this little puppy his very own knitted blanket...

And that, my friends, is the completion of my Ravelympics projects for this year!

This pattern "Wrap me up Puppies" is also from the book Itty Bitty Toys.

I just love this book. This is now the 3rd pattern I've knit from it.

I'm pretty sure that Susan B. Anderson is a toy knitting genius.

My daughter absolutely loves putting her stuffed animals and dolls to bed.

That is by far her favorite playtime activity. From the first time I flipped through this pattern book, I knew that this is a toy that I would definitely make one day.

I just love how you can wrap this little blanket around and fasten it up like a little puppy burrito.

Very clever.

This puppy and blanket only took a few days to knit,

and was the easiest toy out of the 3 to make. I would definitely consider making this one again.

My daughter is of course thrilled to add puppy to her knitted toy collection..

...which is growing quite large these days...