The Outer Limits

The Outer Limits has been released and is now available on Ravelry!  Shalimar Yarns will have kit's to make The Outer Limits at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival this weekend.  They will also be carrying the Oktoberfest, Ribbon Street Cowl and Frost in Bloom patterns along with the yarn's to make them. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by the booth.  Andy and I will be there and are really looking forward to meeting you.

 

The Outer Limits is a super fun knit and makes a great gift. Knit it in your school colors, favorite team colors or to coordinate with your winter coat. The pattern is addictive so you may find that you have knit a whole bunch of them and have your holiday knitting done ahead of time!

The pattern requires 210 yards of each color of Breathless. One skein of Breathless in each color will make two hats. You could make them identical, or reverse the colors on the second hat.

Laurie was so kind to test knit this pattern for me.  This is her adorable grand daughter who I think may have a future in modeling!

 My morning was full of surprises including an email from John Warley asking if he could write about me on his blog.  If you have a moment hop on over to his blog and check it out. I just finished his book, Bethesda's Child.  Not only is it a great read, but it has a surprise ending which I really enjoyed. I really think the blog post he wrote is to shame me into starting his socks and sending them to him.  There is nothing like calling a knitter out in public!

The Dance of Spider Lunacy

There is nothing I find more terrifying than a spider.  I love scary movies and can watch them by myself in the dark.  Want to go through a haunted house?  No problem, I'll go and will even go through them ahead of you if you don't like to go first.  Put a tiny eight legged monster within ten feet of me and I turn into a shrieking lunatic.  The larger the spider, the louder I scream.  So the other morning when I went outside and nearly walked into a web that was more than two feet across I completely panicked.  And when the spider that made the web scuttled onto it with it's creepy legs and bounded around in a threatening manner I nearly lost my shit had a hard time keeping it together.  I slammed the sliding door (this is possible, who knew?!) grabbed a broom and a can of wasp killer.  If it kills wasps, it should be good for other bugs, right?  The can also guaranteed to shoot from as far away as twenty feet.  Broom in my left hand and wasp killer in my right, I went onto the deck and fired away.  First lesson that should be learned, wasp killer does not work on spiders.  The second is when you spray an insect that can shoot a web out of it's behind it's not necessarily the best way to go.  I'm spraying away and the spider starts swinging back and forth on a new web from it's behind and it's getting closer and closer to me.  I spray more and more wasp spray now wishing that I had gone with my original idea of a can of hair spray and a lighter.  I am now trapped in a corner of the deck while the spider from hell is swaying closer and closer.  The can of wasp spray is nearly empty and there is a puddle of it under where the spiderweb is. When the spray runs out, the spider lands on the deck and starts creeping around.  I scream like a little girl and start beating the heck out of it with the broom.  I'm swearing and screaming and beating at something that can't be seen from a distance.  So of course one of the neighbors was outside and saw the Dance of Spider Lunacy.  Of course they saw because what I haven't mentioned was that I was also in my pajamas.  It doesn't get much better than this.

Now the spider has had an entire can of wasp spray on it and is now being beaten to death with a broom.  What is the worst possible thing that could happen and go wrong here?  Yes, that's right the spider got away.  He managed to scuttle between the deck boards and was then no where to be found.  I looked all over.  Andy looked when he came home.  We figured that the spider must have died and all would be well.  That would be the logical thing to think and obviously the best case scenario.  As luck would have it, this morning I went out to take a few pictures of The Outer Limits hat before I send one of them off to Kyle.  Not only is there a new web the size of Manhattan on the lilac bush, but now there is an even bigger one on top of the pergola.  It's so large that part of it is connected to the birch tree growing next to the pergola.  The spider was in it and I swear he was laughing at me.  I doubt they make more than one web so I think he must have invited his friends and now there is an entire colony of them living out there.  I am sure they are conspiring to attack us while we sit on the new patio in the dark.  Little do they know that tonight when Andy comes home, it's going to be our Take Back The Patio night.  I'm heading to Home Depot for some spider spray in a little while.  

 I kept feeling like they might be crawling on me or plotting revenge, but I was able to take a few pictures of The Outer Limits without being attacked by the spider. The one's on the left and right are in Breathless Blue Raspberry and Ore.  The one in the middle is Breathless Love Potion and Ore. It's a really fun pattern and one skein of each color can make two hats.  Laurie has been test knitting the pattern and should have a picture to share soon.

 

So Many Happy Things!

The cat can come out of the bag!  A while ago, I mentioned that I had a couple of secret projects that I was working on.  Well, I can finally talk about one of them.  Earlier this year Kristi, owner and dyer extraordinaire of Shalimar Yarns  asked if I would be interested in designing a bonus sock pattern for the Indulge Me! Club in Breathless.  Of course I immediately said yes and got to work on it.  Beth test knitted the pattern and we have just been waiting for the last club shipment to go out.  The shipping notices went out earlier this week and the club packages should be arriving any time.  I'm so excited to reveal Yorktown.

Shown here in Shalimar Yarns Breathless in Grievous Angel which is a limited edition colorway exclusive to the club for one year.  Yorktown is a really fun pattern to knit with an easy to remember lace pattern.  Ive added a few interesting elements here and there, like a purl ridge under the cuff and at the beginning of the heel.

You may be wondering about why I named the pattern Yorktown.  Kristi, Paul, Andy and I have taken many long weekends trips to Yorktown, VA where we have enjoyed  dinner at the Pub, walking along the serene beach and finishing our day with a refreshing scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  Not to mention that it's very close to Busch Gardens where we have had lots of great times.

Notice that I am no where to be found in this picture!  They all went on the Mach Tower which goes up 246' and then drops down at an amazing rate of speed.  There was NO WAY that I was going on that.  I'm terrified of heights and I think I would have wound up passing out at some point.

Yorktown is available in my Ravelry Pattern Shop.  Use coupon code YT13 for $1.00 off from today until August 10th.  

Work continues on the patio project in the back yard.  It's coming along quite nicely and I think will be done very soon.  The back wall is nearly complete and is the highest point that we are building up.  We should be almost at the point where we can start adding fill and leveling the patio area up.  After that we will put down landscape fabric and then add decorative stone.  I can't wait!  It's going to be so nice to be able to have a place to sit in the shade during the summer and have a small fire in our fire pit this fall and winter.

The black pipes are for drainage from our driveway.  They used to come out near the Blackeyed Susans and we needed to extend them out through the patio to prevent the water from washing it out.  The ends of them will be trimmed back and they won't stick out like that once we are finished.

Ive recently met (online) Chrissy who is Stitched-Together on Ravelry.  Not only is she a designer, but she also has a lovely blog and a very fun podcast. Ive been enjoying listening to it while Ive been painting the den.  She has a cheerful voice and gives a wonderful description of yarns, fibers and patterns.  If you have a chance, be sure to have a listen.

This is the den in progress.  Ive painted the ceiling, walls, trim and am currently working on painting the closet doors white.  The den is in our basement and it always felt a little bit dark in that room. Andy and I thought it would be nice to change to a bright color and liven things up.  The room also doubles as a guest room so we wanted something cheerful and welcoming.  I'm hoping to have things finished up sometime this week.  

Saturday Andy and I were heading out to dinner at Perkys and passed an Estate Sale on the way.  I asked him if he would mind going and that I would only be a an hour or so minute.  So we popped in to take a peek around and boy am I glad that we did!  I've been wanting an older style typewriter and they are crazy prices at the vintage shops in town and are usually not in working order.  We found this one for $9.

A couple of the keys are a bit sticky so I'm going to work on cleaning it and search for replacement ribbon for it.  There is nothing like clacking away on a typewriter!  The case is even in great shape with just a little paint on the outside that I think will come off with cleaning.

We also found this dresser for $5.

It has good lines and is super cute.  Andy is going to fix the crack in the top drawer and then I will paint it a fun color.  I'm thinking coral with possibly each drawer front a different color.  Or maybe cover the drawer fronts with fabric. The possibilities are endless!

A metal picnic basket and cute trash can for my craft room.  $9 for both!

Ive been saving the best for last.  Admittedly I do have a love of dress forms.  I know there are a few already in the house, but none of them are a real dress form.  This one adjust to your measurements and it's probably from the 1960's.  It was a steal at $50.  It even has the original sticker on it and it's made by Singer.

The Indiway Yarns Ferry Beach and Wandering Wildflower KAL begins on August 9th.  There is still a few days before casting on so be sure to come join in the fun!

Ferry Beach

Wandering Wildflower

Wandering Wildflower

Introducing Wandering Wildflower

Introductory price of $3.50 until July 1 on Ravelry

Wandering Wildflower is a very versatile pattern and can be worn as a scarf or a cowl.  If you make the version in the pattern it will use close to 450 yards of fingering weight yarn.  The pattern can easily be modified to accommodate a skein with less yardage by casting on fewer stitches.  Shannon who test knit for me used an alternating color for the eyelet section. It's really quite striking.  Just waiting for her to upload pictures.  We are giving her slack though. I think she is still unpacking boxes from her move last weekend.  If that won't put a delay into things, I don't know what will!

Yes, the pattern name was changed :)  A friend suggested that Kracken might not be the best choice for something that is wrapped around ones neck.  Lindr came up with the name and will receive a copy of the pattern (Lindr please contact me via Ravelry and I will send you a copy right away).  JudyH also will be receiving a copy from our random drawing.  Thank you to everyone who participated!

I'm packing today to leave for TNNA tomorrow.  It's exciting to go and get to see friends that we don't see that often.  I can't believe it's been over a year since Ive seen Anne and Erica!  Im really ecstatic about getting to meet Carrie aka IrishGirlieKnits this year!  Ive always loved knitting her patterns and have done some test knitting for her in the past.  

If you are going to TNNA this weekend, please stop by the Shalimar Yarns booth and say hi.  I will be working all day on Saturday and Sunday morning.  Ive finished my Tempest sweater and will be wearing it.  It's hot pink - Love Potion and gray - Ore so I should be easy to spot. 

Rain, rain, go away.

It's been abnormally cooler here so far this June.  I actually contemplated turning the heat on for a bit yesterday.  I managed to restrain myself and opted for adding a sweatshirt over my long sleeve shirt.  The rail road ties for our new patio project were going to be delivered yesterday.  It was raining so hard from Tropical Storm Andrea that the delivery was rescheduled until next week.  At least the ground will be easy to dig where we are adding the patio! Our soil here is red clay and when it is dry it seems almost as hard at concrete to dig.  It's going to be a wet weekend here so I think we will be working on some inside projects.  After seeing a larger-than-a-small-dog spider in the basement, I'm hoping we can do a bit of organizing down there.  We still have a few things that need to be sorted from when we remodeled the kitchen last year.  Andy is going to help which is great because I think the spider is now under the dryer.  I sprayed it with wasp spray but it took off so quickly that I think it may have survived. 

I finished the back of the Tempest sweater.  It's such a cute pattern and very easy to follow.  I'm hoping to start the front's this weekend.  We picked up Warm Bodies and The Guilt Trip from Redbox.  It's going to be a perfect night to curl up and watch movies. 

If you are working on a striped project and having trouble carrying your yarns, I put a little tutorial up on Ravelry.  It's in post #253 in this thread.


Kristi sent me one of the new Another Way Kit's from the last Shalimar Etsy update.  I just love these colors, this grouping is called Vero Beach. 

It's not like I didn't have anything else on the needles that I should be working on, but I just had to cast on as soon as the kit arrived!  The Another Way pattern is so much fun and really quite easy.  The colors are really happy and cheerful. 

Needle felting therapy is still going on.  I think my arm muscles are getting into great shape from it. I think I need to work on the mushroom house a bit more.  The top looks a bit flopper than what I had planned.

Ive coerced Beth into felting too.  She came over last week and made the cutest gnome.  I wish I had taken a picture of him to show you. 

Que

How many projects should you have in your que on Ravelry?  I mean really, right now I have 533 things to knit in my que.  There are a lot of sweaters in there.  If I knitted 8 hours a day for the rest of my life Im not sure that I could knit all the items in my que.  It takes me about three evenings to knit a sock so potentially I could knit 52 pairs of socks in a year.  Provided that no frogging was involved and we all know how that goes.  I either need to stop adding things to my que (difficult as there are so many cute cardi's out there that are begging to be knit) or dedicate more time to knitting.  Right now I only have two projects on the needles, Tempest by Ann Weaver in Breathless Ore and Love Potion.  I'm thinking of adding one large stripe towards the top in Blue Raspberry but haven't committed to that yet.  I'm also working on the second sock for the new sock design.

Ive gotten really distracted by the needle felting.  Which is great, but it's really cutting into my knitting time.  I spent a week working on this owl.  She is close to life size. 

 

I'm also working on a large mushroom house for the gnomes from the last post.  While I did order a crazy number of couple of felting kit's Ive also been using some roving that I purchased at my first MDSW.  It came in a huge bag and wound up being courser than what I like to spin. I've tried to re home it several times and there haven't been any takers.  I'm so glad it stayed here because Ive really been having a blast needle felting it.  

Does anyone have fun plans for the weekend?  Tonight I'm making Wiener Schnitzel, German Potato Salad and cooked red cabbage.  We are going fishing either tomorrow or Sunday and I'm really hoping we can go to the movies and see Star Trek.  A few years ago a new theater was put in and it has stadium seating with arm rests that can flip up.  The seats are really comfortable and it's a great place to go on a hot summer day.  We are also working on plans for a new patio area.  I'll have progress pictures soon (I hope!).

PS I finished Ardelise but need to block it!  Yay!  That was a LOT of stockinette!  And did you see that Signature Needle Arts now has convertible needles?  They look super cool!

Spring Has Sprung

It seems that spring is finally here.  It began with fits and starts of warm weather mixed with freezing cold days and snow.  Normally we have a bit of a grace period where it's warm enough to open the windows during the day and the heat or air conditioning doesn't need to run.  This year the heat was on one day and literally the next day it was in the 80's.  So much for getting to wear those fun in-between season knit sweaters!

Ive been working on Ardelise.  It's a fun and easy pattern. I wound up going a needle size to get gauge.  I think knitting all those socks recently has tightened me up a bit!


Audrey in Unst is also coming along nicely.  Breathless DK is really a dream to knit with!  Im going to try to grab all I can laughing like a lunatic get some more while we are MDSW next month. Im thinking of Oyster or Black Truffle which are two of my all time favorite colors, but haven't made my mind up yet.  I guess it would help if I had a pattern in mind!  The fronts are almost done.


  Ug! My camera is not cooperating with me today. The color is really stunning in person.

Candy Necklace should be released next week.  I am super excited about it!  Here is a sneak peek from our photo shoot:

 It's a really fun and quick knit and perfect for spring.

Ive also started a test knit for the Shalimar Indulge Me! Club.  It's from Tabetha Hedrick and a lovely pattern.  As soon as I saw the picture for it, I knew I would love knitting it!  I can't show any details right now, but as soon as the club members receive their yarn and pattern I will post the test knit.

I also have two secret patterns in the works.  One will be coming out within the next few weeks and the other one may not be out until later this summer.  Im so excited about both of them!  Beth is test knitting both of them, but I doubt you will be able to get any info out of her.  She is really good at keeping a secret!  And her model, Daisy won't tell either.


That's the Tuesday Night Cowl that Beth knitted for her sister for Christmas.  I wonder if she knows that Daisy modeled it first?

Ive created a page for my designs on Facebook: Lara Smoot Designs  I will be posting new promotions and coupons there throughout the year.  If you are on Facebook, I would love it if you would like my page!

Ribbon Street Cowl

Ive been having such fun designing!  I really enjoy seeing my ideas come to life and it pleases me to no end to see someone else knit something that Ive designed.  Back in the late 90's I had a small business designing and sewing custom riding clothes.  It was always a thrill to see someone wearing something I had sewn.  Making the change from designing sewn garments to knitted ones wasn't really that difficult.  There have been a few instances where Ive had to frog something to redesign it, but overall it's been a very smooth transition.

                                          Shown in Malabrigo Silky Wool Cape Cod


I'm so excited to announce the release of my new pattern, The Ribbon Street Cowl.  It's named after the street that my Grandmother lived on in NY when I was growing up.  It seemed like such a magical place when I went to visit her in the summers.  She would take me to Rath Park for swimming lessons.  Sometimes I would get to go to work with her for the day.  Her boss, Mr. Diabler, would always call me into his office to sit and chat for a while.  The best memories of my childhood are from the times I spent with my Grandmother.  She is even the person who taught me to knit.

The introductory price is just $3.50 until the end of February.  No coupon code needed.  You can find the pattern on Ravelry: Ribbon Street Cowl or by copying and pasting this link into your browser: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbon-street-cowl

I hope that you enjoy knitting this pattern as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

                                                   Shown in Shalimar Yarns Breathless DK Loden

                                    Shown in Knitspots Breakfast Blend DK Morning Smoke


And a big THANK YOU to Beth for test knitting once again!  Daisy makes a wonderful model, don't you think?

Frost in Bloom

Im so excited to announce the release of Frost in Bloom!  It's my first published pattern, and I hope that knitters will enjoy knitting this infinity scarf as much as I have enjoyed designing it.  Ive knitted two of them and am getting ready to cast on for my third one.  Frost in Bloom is a quick fun project perfect for working on at knit group or while watching tv.  It's a one skein project, so you can go stash diving for the yarn.  Shown here in Shalimar Breathless Sonoma.

Over the past several years Ive been testing knitting for several designers.  Going through the test knitting process has taught me a lot about what elements need to be in a pattern, and the importance of clear concise instructions.   Ive included both written and charted directions so whatever your preference is, it should be covered.  Of course if you have questions, Im available via email to answer them and help out if you need it.

The day Andy and I decided to do the photo shoot, it was freezing cold and the wind was blowing like crazy!  We wound up driving around downtown to find a spot with good lighting with shelter from the wind.  This is a stone foundation of the basement of one our favorite antique shops.  It worked out really well.

 

Thank you so much to Shannon and Laura for test knitting, and to Kristi for the final proof read and encouragement, and to Anne for the kind words of wisdom on copyrighting.

Congratulations to Helen who is the winner of the handspun yarn and pattern from the Grievence post!

More on the Kitchen and a bit of a break

August has been such a busy month and has flown by.  We have been working on the kitchen nearly every day.  There have been times when Ive wanted to give up from shear exhaustion.  Andy manages to keep going, I have no idea where he gets his energy and drive from.  He's really an amazing guy! 

 

It rained on Saturday so instead of being able to work on the upper cabinet doors we took a trip to Home Depot to purchase our new backsplash.  Little did I know that when we got home Andy was going to install it.  It looks like an old tin ceiling and came in sheets that are applied with adhesive.  It took just a few hours to put up and we love it!  It completely changed the look of our kitchen and will be much easier to care for than tile.

 

Shown here with my Shalimar Yarn's KAL project, Anarchary in the UK Handwarmers.  The yarn is Homage in Cranberry, Bluecrop and Tawny and is a dream to knit with!

 

 

The next time you see this kitchen there will be doors!

 

Andy and I did manage to take a three day weekend and head to Yorktown, VA.  We were both so exhausted from our home improvement projects that we really appreciated a quiet getaway.

 

We spent some time on the beach

Met a Pirate

Supported our forefathers

Saw cannon fire!

 

And quite honestly spent a lot of time at the Yorktown Pub

 

 

 

 

 

 



Hexipuffs

I have been  knitting crack hexipuffing all weekend.  There are 49 of them done now.  I seriously need some help because I can't seem to stop knitting them.

They are cute, fun and quick to knit.  I knew I had been saving sock and fingering yarn left overs for a reason. 

Even the bunny likes them.

Blog Neglect!

It's been way too long since Ive posted on my own blog.  Ive been working day and night getting ready for this past weekend at TNNA in Columbus.   Since Ive been working as Director of Social Media for Shalimar Yarns Ive been able to have a lot of wonderful opportunities and attending TNNA was definitely one of them!  Andy and I left early on Friday and drove out to Columbus to help Kristi and her daughter Edie set up the Shalimar booth.  After we got everything set up, we had a fantastic dinner with Anne and Erica at 89 Fish & Grill.

I took this picture early in the morning before anyone was there.  I think the booth turned out pretty well.  We had a lot of compliments on how the yarn was displayed.

We were right next to the HiyaHiya booth.  They are a fun group and have wonderful needles!  If you haven't had a chance to try them out, head to your LYS and give them a whirl.  Sharp points, great price and the interchangeables start with size 2! 

During the show so many designers stopped by and it was an honor to meet them all!  Amy Polcyn came by and said she had heard of me.  This just floored me as she is an amazing designer as well as a technical editor for many publications such as Interweave.

Andy and I stopped by to visit with Michelle aka FickleKnitter who will be working on a design for a Shalimar KAL later this year.  She has some amazing designs and I cant wait to knit one of them!

Tonight we are kicking back, watching The Sitter and having Pina Colada's. Glad to be home and to have a chance to relax and do some knitting. Im currently working on Bigger on the Inside. It's a free pattern on Knitty.com. Ive also got a second Color Affection aka the Crack Addiction Shawl in the works. Here is a picture of the first one:

My plan is to make more time for blogging over the summer!  Do you have any fun summer plans?

PS:  I met Tiny Owl Knits and not only is she adorable and sweet, but her designs are too!  Im going to have to make a Beekeeprs Quilt after seeing her's in person. Sweet and a great way to use up left over sock yarns!

 

Catching Up and FO's

It's been a whirlwind here the last few weeks and it's hard to know where to begin.  I have to admit that I may have had a extra iron or two on in the fire last month but it was all in good fun.  Anne asked me to test knit her new and fantastic pattern - Sticks N Stones.  Not only was this a fun knit, but it's really straight forward and allowed for some good movie and tv time with Andy. 

Keep an eye out on Ravelry and Anne's blog for this great pattern!  The yarn is Woolen Rabbit Sporty in Olive Green.

Kristi, from Shalimar Yarns has added a wonderful new 100% silk lace yarn, Ardent, to the Shalimar line.  When she asked me if I wanted to try it out I jumped at the chance!  This is the Ring of Lace Wrap in Ardent Conch Shell.  You can see it in person at the Shalimar Yarns Booth next weekend at Maryland Sheep & Wool.  We will be in the All About Yarns tent.  Join us on Saturday at 1:00 for a meet and greet!

In preparation for MDSW we have been having a KAL in the Shalimar Yarns Group on Ravelry.  We chose the Calsada Scarf and will be wearing them at the meet and greet.  It's a quick and fun pattern and works up beautifully in Shalimar Breathless.  Pictured here in the Tahoe colorway.

Last weekend Andy and I took a trip up to visit with Kristi and Paul for Anne Hansons Sweater Fitness Workshop.  I can't tell you how much fun it was and how much I learned!  Ive already started my next sweater, a Sprossling in Breathless Hemmingway.  Anne had some great tips on fitting my figure and they are really working well. 

Ive been coveting some of the cute bags on etsy and decided that it would be more cost effective to make my own.  Andy and I have been watching Mad Men on Netflix.  It's our new obsession and we can't wait to finish dinner and sit down, relax and watch a new to us episode.  When I saw this fabric it seemed like the perfect choice for my bag:

You can read more of last weekends adventures on Anne's blog!