Contest Winners and Frost in Bloom - The Hat

Thank you to everyone who left a comment and shared their best birthday memories.  I really enjoyed reading all of them. 

The prize winners chosen by Random Number Generator are:

CeltChick has won the The Harmony Guides: Knit Edgings & Trims

 
Kris has won the Yummy Sock Yarn along with the Mirrored Step Pattern.

When Andy and I got up on Saturday it was a dreary looking day.  The sky was dark and gray and there were showers in the forecast.  Most people would think that it wouldn't be a great day to take pictures, but sometimes those gray days are the best.  The lack of sunlight produces pictures without a lot of shadows and glare which are perfect.  We were able to get two sets of pictures done.  One for Frost in Bloom - The Hat and the other one is for.....the new Mystery KAL with Indieway Yarns that will be coming at the beginning of 2014!  Squee!  The pictures for it came out fantastic, but since it's a Mystery, we won't be able to show them until after the KAL.  I'll have more information here on the blog in the next few weeks.  It's going to be a lot of fun and there will be a thread in the Indieway Yarns group on Raverly for the KAL.

I can show you Frost in Bloom - The Hat.  It's a really fun knit!  I'm putting the final touches on the pattern and will have it ready for test knitting by the end of next week.  It's in First String Sock from Indieway in Delicate Pastels.

Last but not least, I'm binding off on The Bat shawl.  It's really pretty, and very batty!  There are a lot of beads in the pattern.  A lot.  Like 585 of the black beads alone, plus the red beads in the black section, and the beads for the bind off. That's a lot of bead placement and a lot of cursing when I would drop one and it would wind up somewhere in dust bunny hell under the sofa.  I didn't realize that Wendy was nice enough to include extra beads in the kit or I wouldn't have gone on a safari looking for the ones I dropped!

Birthday Specials!

There have been a couple of birthdays over the years that were a bit of struggle for me.  When I turned forty, I didn't even want anyone to acknowledge it. I don't know exactly why, since getting older means you have (hopefully, anyway) gained some knowledge, maybe learned a new skill and as a bonus you are closer to getting a senior discount at Kroger on Tuesdays.  I decided a few years ago, that I wasn't going to go down without a fight.  I started adding a new and improved skin regimen (I never even used to remove my makeup at night or wear sunscreen) and recently have had the naturally occurring after a certain age platinum blonde hairs enhanced to a better shade of highlight.  I changed some of my eating habits (Who is going to give up cupcakes? That would just be crazy talk.) and overall I feel a lot better.  My grandmother, who recently turned 97, had the best advice of all: keep your mind young and you will always feel young no matter what your age. 

To celebrate my birthday, I'm having a few giveaways and a coupon for my pattern shop on Ravelry.  Use coupon code: Cupcake for 25% off all single patterns until November 17th.

I somehow wound up purchasing two copies of The Harmony Guides: Knit Edgings & Trims, in the same order from Interweave.  That means I have a copy to give away!  It does not mean that was a senior moment.  Really, it wasn't. 

I also had two skeins of this Yummy Sock Yarn in my stash and would like to share one along with a copy of my Mirrored Step pattern.  

For a chance to win please enter a comment and share your best birthday memory.  I'll draw for the winners by random number generator next Monday, November 18th. 

3 Million and Counting

Ravelry just reached its Three Million Member mark.  Three Million.  That just amazes me.  It means there are three million fiber enthusiasts that are all in one place.  People from all over the world; knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, farmers, all banding together for camaraderie and fun.  All with one thing in common: the love of yarn and fiber.  I can honestly say that a large percentage of my kitting and fiber friends Ive met because of Ravelry.  My position at Shalimar Yarns started from a friendship formed on Ravelry.  I spend countless hours browsing patterns and chatting with friends on there.  Thank you to Jess and Casey, you guys are the best!  I wish you many more millions of members and future success!

 

Speaking of Ravlery, (I know not the best segway but it's all I have going on the Monday after Daylight Savings Time) I recently added my latest pattern: Mirrored Step to my Ravlery shop:

 

 

 

It's a fun and very easy knit which produces a lovely textured pattern.  The socks are a mirror image of one another.  The unisex design is versatile enough to work with both semi-solid and variegated yarns.  The socks above are in Sanquine Gryphon's Bugga Adonis Butterfly. 

 

This is a close up of my dear friend Tierney's Mirrored Step test knit. She used Into the Whirled Saginaw Sock in Viola.  If you have a chance, check out Tierneys Blog.  I just noticed that she posted a new cookie recipe on there.  I know what I will be making tomorrow!

 

 

Is that snow on your garden gnome, or did he get into the cupcakes?

It's my favorite day of the year. It snowed last night and I woke while it was still dark. Andy brought me a cup of coffee in bed and Roper hung out with me while I relaxed into the morning. I snuck outside while still in my pajama's to take a few pictures. The sun was just starting to come up and the sky was a beautiful whitish blue. The only sound was the ice cracking on the trees as the breeze blew through them.

After living in Maine for so many years, I stopped enjoying snow. The last winter I lived there we had 99" of snow accumulation over the winter. There was so much snow and it was so incredibly heavy that the roof of the barn needed to be shoveled. By the end of the winter I could stand on the huge snowbank next to the barn to reach up and shovel more snow off. The first winter that I lived in Virginia was like being on vacation! It didn't snow at all and I don't remember it being colder than mid 40's. Since then, I've found that it does snow here on occasion, but it's never very much. It melts within a few days and looks pretty while it's here. There never seems to be that gray sludge on top of the snow from the street that happens further north. It's just pretty and pristine and reminds me of a frosted cake.

The Nikomedes pattern is nearly finished.  Im putting the final touches on it now.  Shannon and Beth have been really wonderful test knitters. The pattern should be ready to be released by the end of next week.  I've really enjoyed writing and designing this pattern   It's fun knit with a very easy to remember stitch pattern.  The lace  continues down the heel which is perfect for showing off with clogs!

Nikomedes shown in Shalimar Yarns Zoe Sock Driftwood

Here is a little teaser for Mirrored Step, which will be coming out at the end of February.  It's a great pattern for semi-solid as well as variegated yarns.  Knitted cuff down and will come in three sizes.  The Mirrored Step stitch pattern really helps to break up any pooling and will work well with a variety of yarns.

Cindy and Tierney have just gotten the test pattern for this fun knit.  Im anxious to hear how they are doing and see progress pictures.  It's so exciting when I get to see my patterns come to life in the knitting of others!  

  Check out Tierney's blog if you have a chance.  She has some really fun things on there and is very talented!