Catching up... a video podcast of sorts

Hi, Knitters,
Today I sat down and did a video for you. I am sharing my current projects both finished and unfinished. I recommend a couple of new books and talk about other general knitting things. I apologize for the shaking camera at some points in the video. I'll do better next time, I promise.

If you are an email subscriber and can't see the video on the email, click here to watch on YouTube!

Click here for my YouTube Channel, SusanBAnderson! I now have 56 videos on the channel, most are instructional.

Here are some of the links for the things I talk about in the video:

Belfast Hoodie by Carrie Bostick-Hoge (the cardi I am wearing)
Quince & Co.
Friends in Fiber on Etsy
Peerie Flooers by Kate Davies
Snawheid by Kate Davies
Scrap Happy Hat free pattern by me
Be sure to watch to find out how to make a worsted weight version (using 1 strand) at 4.5 sts per inch in stockinette stitch on US size 7 and 8.
Bella's Mitts Peachy's favorite mittens and a free pattern
How I make my socks free pattern by yours truly
Spunky Eclectic Sport weight Super Nova sock yarn
Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl by Paula Emons-Fuessle
Clover pom-pom makers
The Rhinebeck Sweater by Ysolda
Adventures in Yarn Farming by Barbara Parry

I mentioned that Vogue Knitting Live in New York is offering all of the Sunday, January 19th classes for 50% off right now. Click here to see the classes! I hope to see some of you in my classes. Yes, please?

Another fun sale that's going on through Craftsy right now is that this weekend, starting tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 15th, and lasting 48 hours you can get up to 65% off of fabrics and up to 85% off yarns! That's a good deal. I have ordered lots of yarn through Craftsy and it has been wonderful.
Click here to see the deals starting on Fri., Nov. 15th!

One last thing is that I did a little reversible toy that is now a free pattern for Knit & Crochet Now! which is a PBS show. I haven't seen the episode yet and I think you have to login to get the pattern. The lovely Candi Jensen, the producer of the show, asked me if I would design a reversible toy to be featured in a segment for the show. The Elephant and Mouse is adorable and quick and a great use of leftovers. I will talk more about it very soon on the blog.

Click here for the tiny and free Elephant and Mouse pattern on Knit & Crochet Now!

Have a great Friday and I'll be back soon with more!
best, susie

Scrap Happy Hat Recipe

  

Hi, Knitters,

First I need to announce the winners of the 2 skeins of Made in America Yarns! The winner of a skein of Florafil is MadamMarple - rav id! Hurray!  The winner of the skein of American Lamb is chavahsdaughter - rav id! Woo! Hoo! Both winners have been contacted through Ravelry and given instructions on how to get your yarn winnings. Thank you to everyone for entering and I'll have another giveaway, I'm thinking for a book or two, very soon.

Today is a good day for a free hat recipe. As promised I am giving you a quick hat recipe to use up those worsted weight scraps. A recipe for a project is good for this one because I just grabbed some leftover yarns and started in and that's what you'll have to do as well. I don't know the exact amounts of yarns that I used so gather several different colors and dive in. Add more colors as needed as you knit along. I am thinking about 300 yards of worsted weight (it is held doubled throughout) should do it.

To give a brief background on these hats, it all started several years ago. My oldest daughter, Peachy, is now a senior in high school so this has been going on for 4 years now. Each year for the girls high school swim team the girls are all assigned a swim sister. The swim sisters give weekly gifts and posters and general encouragement to each other. I guess it is a form of the buddy system. Now that TC is in high school and part of the team the sister load was doubled. Two of everything! 

I have always tried to include a handknit gift or two for the swim sisters. This year I did some super-bulky mittens in team colors and then I gathered up a bunch of worsted weight leftovers and whipped up these adorable earflap hats.

The following is general information to make your own Scrap Happy Hats! Remember this is a sketchy recipe available here on my blog only (I am not making a pdf for this one) and it is free. I hope you are able to understand that I don't have much spare time to answer a lot of questions about this hat pattern. I'll try to make it as straight-forward as possible right here on the blog post for you. 

Updated pdf version: Jennifer Patten, a kind and generous blog reader, has made this pattern into a slick 2 page pdf for you to download through my Ravelry pattern shop! It's still free! 

Click here for the Ravelry info. and download the pattern!

Copyright information: As always, please be respectful of copyright and please don't sell my words or work as your own. Charity and fundraising knitting with my patterns is ALWAYS welcome and appreciated.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Scrap Happy!

Scrap Happy Hat

by susan b. anderson

Size: A unisex earflap hat intended for a large child, teen or adult-sized head, will easily fit a head circumference of about 20-23 inches. The hat is supposed to have a generous fit, lengthy and roomy.

Yarn: Worsted weight yarn held doubled. I am guessing it will take about 300 yards or so.

OR 

Use 150 yards or so of a super bulky or bulky weight yarn that will get the same gauge!

Suggested yarns: 

Quince & Co. Lark

Cascade 220 (wool or superwash)

Lorna's Laces Worsted

Sunshine Yarns Worsted

Quince & Co. Owl

Madelinetosh Worsted

Handspun worsted

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter

Valley Yarns Northampton

Anything goes!

Needles: US size 11 or 13, 16-inch circular and a set of 4 dpns or size to obtain gauge

I used US size 13 for the teen and adult-sized heads and US size 11 for a child's head for a tighter fit

* The samples here are knit on US size 13

Gauge: 3 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Materials:

Tape measure

Yarn needle

Detachable stitch markers

Scissors

Pom-pom maker (optional)

Pattern note: This hat is your own creation. Switch and add colors whenever you'd like! Also, switch stitch patterns whenever you'd like! It's all up to you. I used rib, garter, seed stitch, a simple checkered fair-isle stitch pattern, stripes and I threw in a purl row here and there. I am providing the general hat pattern but you will need to fill in the colors and stitch patterns and striping depending on your scrap colors and amounts. Have fun and be creative!

Hat:

With the circular needles and the 2-strands of worsted weight yarn held together, cast on 60 stitches. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist the stitches. Place a stitch marker on the first stitch.

Rnds 1-4: (k2, p2) repeat to the end of the round OR (k1, p1) repeat to the end of the round

Switch to your stripes and various stitch patterns.

Work until the hat measures 7 inches from the cast on edge. Here is where you might want to make the hat shorter if it is for a younger or smaller sized head! The samples are for adult-sized heads and I knit to 7-inches and they fit the girls great.

Decrease for the top of the hat:

*Work onto your double-pointed needles when needed.

Rnd 1: (k4, k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (50 sts remain)

Rnd 2: knit

Rnd 3: (k3, k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (40 sts remain)

Rnd 4: knit

Rnd 5: (k2, k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (30 sts remain)

Rnd 6: knit

Rnd 7: (k1, k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (20 sts remain)

Rnd 8: (k2tog) repeat to the end of the round (10 sts remain)

Cut the yarn and place the end on a yarn needle. Pull the end through the remaining 10 sts and pull up tight to close the hole. Pull the end to the inside, weave in and trim.

Weave in all ends on the inside of the hat and trim.

You don't have to add earflaps to the hat at this point! You could leave it as is.

Earflaps (optional):

Mark the center front of the hat with a stitch marker. I do this by folding the hat in half with the first stitch of the round (and color switching spot) at the back of the hat. Lay the hat flat and find the stitch at the center of the front brim. This is where I put the stitch marker.

Measure 4 inches going toward the back of the hat on both sides of the center stitch marker. Place stitch markers to mark this 4-inch back from the front center marker on both sides. This marks where the earflaps will start on the sides of the hat. Count 12 stitches from the earflap stitch markers and going toward the back of the hat and place a second stitch marker here. Now you have both of the earflaps marked off on your hat.

Use 2 of the double-pointed needles to work back and forth to knit the earflaps. With the right side facing you, attach the earflap yarn (2 strands held double) pick up the 12 stitches along the cast on edge and in between your placed stitch markers for the earflap.

Rows 1-8: knit

Row 9: ssk, knit to the last 2 sts, k2tog

Row 10: knit

Repeat rows 9 and 10 until there are 4 sts remaining.

Bind off. 

Cut the yarn and weave in all ends to the wrong side of the hat/earflap and trim.

Repeat for the second earflap.

Optional: Add a pom-pom (2-inch multi-colored poms are used in the samples) or add I-cord ties or twisty ties as you see fit.

Twisty Ties:

To make the twisty rope ties, cut the yarn to be 4 times your desired length (anywhere from 8-12 inches). Hold 3 or 4 different colors together. Fold the strands in half and twist them to the right until they start to wind back up on themselves. Fold in half again and let go. The strands will twist up on themselves to create the rope. Tie an over-hand knot at the end and trim the ends. Tack securely onto the end of the earflap.

And there you have it!!

Click here for the Ravelry project page for Scrap Happy to favorite and queue and post! I'd love to see your version of this hat recipe!

Enjoy your scrappy hats, sweet Knitters:)

For an added personal touch for the swim sisters, and because for this style of hat it is often difficult to tell the front from the back, I added these sweet little wool felt name-tags. I simply cut a tiny rectangle of felt (yours could be a heart) and took some black sewing thread and a needle and embroidered the girls' names and stitched them onto the inside of the brim to mark the back of the hat. It is all imperfect and perfect at the same time. 

Copyright Susan B. Anderson 2013

Scrap Happy on Ravelry! Click here.

Love you, Knitters!

best, susie

Made in America Yarns Giveaway!

Edited to Add: Made in America Yarns is in booth #210 right now at Stitches East! Beck will be there all weekend. If you are at Stitches, please stop by the Made in America Yarns booth and say hello from me. While you're there give the yarn a good squish. You won't be able to resist bringing some home with you!

Hi, Knitters,

I have a fantastic opportunity for you to win some homegrown yarn today. Last June at TNNA I was lucky enough to be introduced to Beck Gusler. Beck is the sister of the fabulous Laura Linneman of the Knit Girllls and part of a wonderful family filled with fiber artists so she has been well-versed in yarns all of her life. I had the opportunity to have Beck in one of my classes at SSK and to sit next to her at dinner last summer. She is so excited about her new career path, it just pours out of her. Beck recently landed a job at a really cool American-based yarn company located in Philadelphia called, Made in America Yarns. At TNNA Beck was working in the Made in America Yarns' booth and gave me the two sample balls you see in the photo above. I was interested in this American yarn company and really liked the yarns she gave me.

Click here for the Made in America Yarns website!

Click here for the Made in America Yarn choices! 

Click here to learn about the yarn mill where these yarns are made!

Here is a blurb straight from the website about the company and mill in Philadelphia:

At Made in America Yarns, all of our yarns are spun, twisted and dyed at our mill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our yarns are designed and manufactured at Huntingdon Yarn Mill in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Our mill has been in operation since 1940, and many of our employees are second- and third-generation workers. We are deeply rooted in our community and dedicated to keeping jobs in the USA.

Beck asked if I would be interested in reviewing and hosting a yarn giveaway on my blog. I jumped at the chance. I didn't know of this wonderful company before and there is a chance that you may not have heard of Made in America Yarns either. 

Beck sent me two regular-sized hanks of Made in America Yarns to enjoy and review. The first is this lofty, fluffy hank of American Lamb (shown in the photo above). Oh, to give this yarn a squish! You would be sold immediately. American Lamb is 100% wool and 146 yards in bulky weight. My hank is in the Delft Blue colorway. On a recommended US size 10 needle you get about 14 stitches for 4-inches in stockinette stitch. The yarn has a textured appearance due to the finer thread that is plied with the loftier ply of the wool. I love this style of yarn! It is super fun to knit and creates a great fabric. 

I will be casting on a hat with my hank of Delft Blue American Lamb. I'm not sure what pattern but possibly something like this, or this, or this, or most likely this (these are all free patterns!). I will be making a pom-pom with the smaller sample hanks I received at TNNA. It will be super cute and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Click here to see the 16 available colorways for this sweet and versatile American Lamb yarn.

The other squishy, soft hank of yarn I was sent to review is this gorgeous bulky-weight cotton, called FloraFil. My hank is in the deep, rich Chocolate Lily colorway. I love it. You want to sink right in and stay awhile. This yarn is 97% cotton and 3% nylon (the plying thread is the nylon). This is a lofty and textured cotton that comes in 125 yard hanks. 

Click here to see the 31 color options for FloraFil!

One thing you might be surprised about is the number of times I am asked to recommend a cotton yarn for people who are allergic or want an alternative to wool. I struggle coming up with great recommendations especially when asked about a heavy worsted or bulky weight cotton yarn. Well now my problem is solved. I LOVE this bulky weight cotton. There are so many things you could knit with this yarn, especially for babies. Many people want to knit in cotton for babies and I totally get that. FloraFil is so soft and wouldn't irritate a baby's skin at all. Plus it is machine wash safe, a big bonus for baby knitting, especially when knitting gifts for non-knitters.

Think about little hats, sweaters, washcloths, blankets, booties, toys, buntings..... it would all be beautiful and would work up incredibly fast on US size 10 needles at 14 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch. Adults could make great use of this yarn, too!

Today I am thrilled to be able to offer you a fantastic yarn giveaway thanks to Made in America Yarns and to Beck! Thank you for the chance.

I am going to randomly select two winners in a couple of days. Each winner will get one hank of Made in America Yarns, one cotton FloraFil and the other American Lamb wool in your color of choice (click here and here to see the colors). These are beautifully crafted American-made yarns. I can't wait for you to check out the site and to get some of this yarn in your hands and on your needles. Let's support this unique company together.

Please leave one comment and specify if you would like a hank of the cotton FloraFil or the wool American Lamb and which colorway you would like. Please leave an email address or your Ravelry ID so I can easily get in touch with you if you win. I will gather your mailing address and pass it on to Beck to mail out your yarn directly. Please be patient for your comment to appear, it takes some time, and please don't comment more than once.

Good luck and let the comments begin!

best, susie

p.s. I have found two things to be true: I love styling yarn for photos and I want to be a yarn stylist. Does this exist as a career-path? (I am sort of kidding but not.)

Knitting on Fire

Hi, Knitters,

One quick and fun announcement, my publisher has made all of my books available for the Kindle and iBook! This is incredibly exciting. Right now all of my books are on sale for around $2.99 and less. I hope you take advantage of this incredible opportunity. Even if you own the hard copies of the books, to be able to own them digitally is a big deal, perfect for portability and easy access anytime (travel and yarn shopping included). All of the book content is now available at the tips of your fingers instantly. I love that this has happened. I'll talk more about the eBook editions later.

Click here to find out more about Susan B. Anderson books on iBooks!

Click here to find out more about Susan B. Anderson books on Kindle!

Now for today's topic at hand:

My house is full of fiber, yarn and knitting this fall. To quote the song, this girl is on fire! It's that time of year.

Paula Emons-Fuessle introduced the Magic Cake Ruffle Shawl this week and she told me I was the first one to purchase her new pattern. Yesterday, in my post-event-fog of a Monday, I slowly selected my leftover fingering weight yarn and wound it in a gigantic cake of all in one ruffle shawl yarn. It was fun, mindless and somewhat soothing. I hand-selected yarns that are my favorites for many different reasons.

One yarn is Opal sock yarn from socks I knit for my sister-in-law a couple of years ago. These were some of my all-time favorite socks and although I loved giving them away, I have longed for a pair for myself ever since. I put in my beloved Kristin Nicholas Garden Effects yarn and my adored remnants from three gorgeous skeins of Cakewalk Yarns. I threw in some old Kaffe Fassett Regia from a pair of socks I made for TC many years ago. Last but not least, I tossed in some Noro Kureyon Sock. I still love and wear these socks all of the time. I will modify as I knit, pulling out colors and maybe even adding more. I plan to let the shawl pull me in and take me for a knitting ride. No plan is set but this is a memory shawl for sure, a trip down memory lane.

The yarn bowl above was a gift from a beloved Itty-Bitty Knits group member on Ravelry. The ceramic artist's shop is here.

Links for the project:
Magic Ruffle Shawl by Paula Emons-Fuessle
The Knitting Pipeline ~ (Paula's podcast) Please listen to episode 150 to learn more about the shawl! All of your questions will be answered in the podcast episode or in the written pattern.

I highly recommend this project. You will love it! This project and the Patchwork Socks are wonderful and useful ways to use up and find beauty in your leftover sock yarn.

Friends in Fiber Falkland Pumpkin Patch is now on the wheel. This fiber shop on Etsy is amazing, has great service and wonderful products. The owner wrote me a personal note to thank me for the many visits to her shop after my mention of the Falkland Number 6 fiber from her shop. She has it available now if you are interested. This is some beautiful roving.

Friends in Fiber on Etsy!

Gorgeous. Fun. Autumnal.

Double Marl technique ~ my favorite way to spin!

Here are some progress shots from the Peerie Flooers hat by the talented and interesting Kate Davies.

What a fun and motivating knit so far.

My love of colorwork is stronger than ever. I use stitch markers to mark the repeats. This helps me go a lot faster. I don't ever have to stop to see where I am once I start the round, it is instantly memorized. I am in love with this hat. The fabric is light and woolly and so beautiful. I am excited to get to the top decreases. I am making the medium size to make sure it covers my ears for the bitter cold winter ahead. I have one more repeat to go before the last chart for the top.

Sheep Heid is next and then Snawheid after that and you better believe I am making that gigantic pom-pom for the top of Snawheid. I love Kate Davies' work.

best, susie

p.s. If you are reading this as an email subscriber, please hop over to my actual blog (click here for susanbanderson.blogspot.com) and take a look at the fresh new layout. The photos are bigger and brighter and I have a new header. I am loving the new look. The sock yarn in the header is 15 Colour Rainbow by Fab Funky Fibres on Etsy.

Weekend Reading~Knitting~Spinning

Hi, Knitters,

I am starting off today by continuing my list of favorite podcasts both audio and video:

Just One More Row

Knitabulls

Double Knit

Knitting in Circles

2 Knit Lit Chicks

Must Stash Podcast

The Dyer's Notebook

Whatcha Swatchin Podcast

Electric Sheep

Fiber Hooligan

There are more I'm sure. My sincerest thank you to all of these podcasters. I love spending time with them.

One more quick thing, my clogs that are in the photos I share with my handknit socks, are wool Birkenstocks in the Bern style. Click here to see them and to order a pair if you like! I am getting so many emails, comments and messages asking about these clogs. I have linked and talked about the style and brand many times on the blog. I hope you can understand that I am not going to be able to personally answer any more emails or messages or comments about the wool Birkenstock Bern clogs. If you do a google search lots of different places to purchase will pop up for you. You'll love them if you do get a pair.

I can't believe it's almost the weekend once again. These busy weeks with my family and work simply fly by. This weekend, when I'm not at a swim meet or teaching at VK Live in Chicago, I plan on spending time with these two new beautiful knitting books. 

The Yarn Whisperer, by Clara Parkes, has been in my hands for awhile now. I received a review copy from STC, the publisher. I love the cover. I messaged Clara when she previewed the cover to tell her how much I love it. It looks 3-D, like you could feel the yarn wrapped around the book. Basically, Clara is a wonderful writer and storyteller. The Yarn Whisperer is a book of essays about Clara's life and relationships with others and yarn and knitting. She takes you along with her as she talks candidly about her life while weaving knitterly metaphors into the pages at the same time. It is an enjoyable read and Clara, as always, is clever and entertaining. I love and respect her work so much. What a great gift for a knitter for the upcoming holidays.

Click here for The Yarn Whisperer!

Click here for The Knitter's Review! (Clara's website and newsletter ~ I subscribe!)

Now for the other book, Ann Hood's Knitting Yarns, Writers on Knitting. I have been waiting on pins and needles for this book to come out. I purchased it myself. I have met Ann Hood and she is lovely. If you want to read a fun blast from the past that involves Ann Hood, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Stefanie Japel, my friend Dianne, and me, click right here. If you do, be sure to read the comments that include both Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Stefanie Japel. They are funny.

Ann's book, The Knitting Circle, holds a spot in my heart so of course I couldn't be more excited to read the new collection of essays in Knitting Yarns by some of our great writers.  The writers included are Elizabeth Berg, Sue Grafton, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Patchett, Ann Shayne and Anita Shrieve to name a few. There are many more but these are the ones that jump out at me most. And who knew that these talented writers are knitters? I didn't. I can't wait to read this book! Ahhhh!

Click here for Knitting Yarns!

Click here for The Knitting Circle!

Today it is rainy and chilly so maybe I'll curl up with a hot chocolate and read a bit tonight. Sounds good?

As for the spinning, I shared the singles and the fiber in the last post. It is now plied, washed, and dried. I think it is about the best hank of yarn around. Spinning is just like the knitting, when you finish something you really like you want to start on the next project right away. That's how I feel after finishing this Falkland braid.

This beautiful yarn is a worsted weight or so. It was spun from Friends in Fiber Falkland, 4 oz., in the colorway Number 6. I used the Double Marl technique to create 208 yards. This is one of my favorite spinning techniques. I get really great yarn every time I use it and I love the way it distributes the color. This works well with highly contrasting multi-color braids, too.

So I am a BIG fan of spinning Falkland. This hank of handspun is airy, squishy and downright gorgeous. I see Friends in Fiber has a lot of Falkland available right now in their Etsy shop, even in this same colorway, and it is so reasonably priced. I may have ordered some more....

My next braid is called, Pumpkin Patch, and it is more Falkland by Friends in Fiber. I am going to use the same technique, Double Marl, to spin this one. I'll share once I get it going. 

I'll be at a swim meet all day on Saturday and then I am teaching all day on Sunday at Vogue Knitting Live in Chicago so really I don't know how much I'll get done over the next couple of days. The only sweater I have on the needles for me right now is Hiro by Julia Farwell-Clay. I am using up some Cascade 220 from my stash. I might work on this in the car on both Saturday and Sunday but then there are always those socks calling my name......

The Red Riding Hood bag is from Little Skein. I love it.

I'll be back soon with more. I hope you all have a great weekend. Get some knitting done for me!

best, susie

p.s. I am obsessed with this cardigan right now in these same colors. What do you think? I think I'd like to wear this one a lot. All winter long. In Quince & Co. Chickadee in Nasturtium, Egret and Crow. Yes, that's what I'm thinking about.

Come take a look and listen.....

Hi, Knitters,

I have two quick announcements today. First, thank you so much for the support in winning The Best Craftsy Instructor Blog! I am so honored. There was some stiff competition and I appreciate you taking the time to vote. Click here to see all of the winners in all categories! 

Secondly, I will be teaching two workshops at Vogue Knitting Live in Chicago this weekend, Sunday, Nov. 3rd. In between my classes I am going to be signing books in Jaala Spiro's Knit Circus booth in the market. After my class I will get to the Knit Circus booth #213 as soon as possible, a little after noon. I will be there for an hour to sign and chat. I will have the trunk show for my latest book, Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys. I hope you can stop by and say hello, get your book signed or purchase a book from Jaala to have signed (she has my new and older books available for purchase!). I hope to see you in class or at my book signing in the Knit Circus booth #213. Plus, Jaala makes the coolest yarns dyed right here in Madison. You have to see them to believe them.

Click here for Vogue Knitting Live Chicago information! This weekend coming up!

Click here for KnitCircus website!

Click here for the KnitCircus Yarns on Etsy!

Click here to see my books! 

Click here to see the Topsy-Turvy Inside Out Knit Toys book trailer (these toys will be in the booth)!

I am teaching all 3 teaching days filled with various workshops at Vogue Knitting Live NYC, January 17-19th, 2014! Please check all of the classes out and sign up as the NYC VKLive has been known to completely sell out of class space! Get in early if you are thinking about going to this fun event and I hope to see you there.

Now for the business of the day. As promised, I cast on the Peerie Flooers Hat by Kate Davies, which means "little flowers" in the Shetland dialect. I love this hat and the pattern is wonderful. Through the years I have collected a box of 2-ply wools of various brands and colors like Jamieson 2-ply, Harrisville Shetland, and Knit Picks Palette. I have found that these wools intermix very nicely. 

My version of Peerie Flooers (above) will be a combination of Harrisville Shetland and Knit Picks 2-ply wools. I suggest that if you enjoy colorwork like I do, that you start a collection of these small 50 gram balls. Then when you see something you want to knit like colorwork socks, hats, mittens, etc., you can reach for your 2-ply wool collection and go to town. You need such small amounts of any one color that one small ball of wool goes a long way. Also, see those ends hanging out waiting to be woven in? I don't mind that one bit. I kind of like weaving in ends.... I know, weird but true.

Mary Jane Mucklestone's Solidago Socks are the perfect example of grabbing some 2-ply out of the stash and going to town. This sock has Jamieson and Palette. I am now almost to the toe on the second sock, a new pair is almost done. This is a great free pattern from Knitty.com. Solidago would be a great first-time colorwork project for new two-color stranded knitters. The colorwork section is so small that you can get your feet wet and accomplish something with quick success. 

I am really excited about my box of embroidery thread from Flower Thread. I've had it for quite some time now but I hadn't shared it yet. Last summer when I was deeply entrenched in embroidery, I had heard my embroidery idol, Rebecca Ringquist, talk about loving her Flower Thread. Enough said. I am still embroidering here and there, I'll share some of it soon. My work knitting has definitely taken over though. Click here for Rebecca's excellent online classes on Creativebug!

Flower Thread comes like this, people! Wound and sorted and inspiring!

Click here to see more about Flower Thread!

I have pulled my Patchwork Socks (my favorite socks ever) out of the sock drawer to enjoy again this fall. Switch yarns every 10 rows, use up your left overs. More socks like this to come. That's all.

So I spun this.... 

,

Friends in Fiber Falkland, 4 oz. ~ great prices!

This is one 2 oz. bobbin. Double-Marl.

I'll show you the finished handpsun yarn soon, it's plied and drying now.

Check out this braid that is next up on the wheel! It is fall goodness in wool.

Now for some fun links:

I am making this free colorwork hat pattern from Shibui! This is a good unisex hat.

I am making these Snowfling Mittens very soon!

I will be reviewing Made in America Yarns coming up with a yarn giveaway!

I have a stack of books a mile high set to review and giveaway... I can't keep up with all of the cool knitting books out there, like this one, and this one, and this one. Look for these soon.

Every once in awhile I will list podcasts I am enjoying and today is one of those days. I can't stop listening/watching these podcasts:

Yarn Raising

Knit.Spin.Farm

The Fat Squirrel

Voolenvine

Snappy Stitches

Twin Set

The Knit Girllls

The Knitmore Girls

The Knitting Pipeline

Books on the Nightstand

Yarniacs

Stash and Burn

The Stockinette Zombies

There are many more I listen to and I will list more in another post. These are not in any specific order. These audio and video podcasts keep me company while I do my knitting work and running and hiking. Thank you to all of these amazing podcasters who add so much to our knitting community.

Well, that's enough for you today! 

I'll be back soon with much more....

best, susie

Fall-ing

Hi, Knitters,

Fall has hit hard and fast here in Madison. In fact, it has been feeling downright wintery as far as the temperatures go, freezing at night and climbing into the 40s during the day. It has been blustery and cloudy for much of the week but the sun is shining today. We have had a terrible cold running through every member of the family for the past couple of weeks. The coughing and running nose have taken me out for a few days. It's a bad one. The snuffles and raw noses have added to the fall-like feel around here as well. 

We have been pulling out hats and mittens and shawls and coats and wool sweaters to fight the chilly temps. My knitting has really kicked up a notch as it often does for everyone this time of year.

I pulled out my Pop Spots Shawl and finished up the body of the shawl, which is incredibly fun to knit, leaving only the applied lace edging to go. I am knitting the shawl out of Madtosh Sock in Tart and Madelinetosh Feather in Tidal Basin. In reality I know that it is going to take me forever and a day to finish the lace edging on this large shawl even though it is a fun part of the shawl to knit. I am going to just tackle it a little bit at a time. We'll see when it gets done. I know I will love this shawl and wear it a ton when it is done. That is motivating.

I am finishing up lots of socks that are partially done or one done. It is fun to finish up a new pair of socks, nothing better really. I have lots of plans for what I want to knit for fun coming up, the non-work knitting on the side. That always drives and inspires me. The planning and dreaming about knitting is the best. My son requested a pair of socks and I have a half-way finished sweater for my other son that I am hoping to finish by Christmas (this Christmas).

I have lots of designs in the works, some coming out soon, lots coming out in January. Plus, I am plugging away on a new book. The behind the scenes knitting and writing and pattern writing is sometimes overwhelming, that's the part I don't share much on here because I can't spoil upcoming releases. 

Juggling all of the emails, teaching requests and teaching obligation work, etc., is something I am starting to struggle to keep up with, especially all of the emails. It seems things are just getting more and more. The thing is that I sincerely want to do it all, respond to every request, question and opportunity. I truly love what I do and I feel very fortunate. That's the hard part, keeping it down to a manageable level. I want to say yes to everything. I'm not complaining at all, I enjoy my work so much. Sometimes I just think I need an assistant so I can focus more on the actual knitting and writing work and not all of the busy-work that is necessary but time consuming. That will probably never happen but it's fun to dream.

The photo above is my usual work uniform in the fall and winter months. I know I am a lucky girl when I get ready for work by pulling on my Quince & Co. Belfast Hoodie, my favorite pair of jeans and slipping on my Bern Wool Birkenstocks (whoa, they are on sale right here!) with handknit rainbow socks tucked inside. If it's really cold I throw a shawl on over my shoulders on top of the sweater. Wool on top of more wool. It feels so good. I sit in the comfiest chair in the house surrounded by fabulous yarns, my computer and multiple projects in action. It is all good and happy and for some reason it is even better when it turns cold outside.

I know that you all know exactly what I mean.

The other thing that happens in the fall is that my pattern sales really pick up. I always find pattern sales interesting. I like to think about what the knitters are buying and knitting. There are some patterns that have been selling like hotcakes recently, like for example, Another Flower Headband (in the photo above) and I find the timing funny because my own daughters have been wearing their Another Flower Headbands almost everyday. They love this headband.

I love how the yarn used in each headband fits the girls' different personalities to a tee. My older daughter is much quieter and understated, thus the gray, and old TC loves a rainbow anything, the brighter the better. It makes me happy to see them wear the headbands so often. Both are lined for extra warmth. The gray is lined with a cut piece of fleece and the colorful one is lined with a store-bought knit headband ($1 at Joann's in the bins by the checkout). I stitched these in with a needle and thread. I did have to re-stitch the gray lining this year in a couple of spots but it only took a few minutes.

Click here to find out more about the Another Flower Headband pattern or to purchase (only $2.50)!

The other pattern that has been flying out of the shop is the Waiting for Winter Mittens and Fingerless Mitts pattern. This pattern is my tried and true mitten pattern, one that I have refined and worked on for years by knitting mitten after mitten. It is so easy and memorizable and that's what makes it fun, I guess.

Click here for more information or to purchase the Waiting for Winter Mittens pattern!

Click here to see all of the downloadable patterns in my Ravelry Pattern Shop! (You don't need to be a member on Ravelry to view or purchase patterns.)

Other patterns that have been selling like mad for some reason are:

Milk Cow (I have no idea why this one has picked up so much.)

Ebb Cowl (Copyright just switched over to me! Yay!)

Quaker Ridge Shawlette (My bestselling pattern!)

Mini-Sock Yarn Bunny (recently released)

Opal Sock Yarn Bunny (I think people are pairing the big and mini together.)

And last but not least, the Surefire Hat is always a big fall and holiday knitting seller. I am happy to report that my sons are both still wearing their Surefire Hats! This has been going on for years and years now. Each of them have two different versions of the Surefire Hat and they wear them all winter long.

Click here for the Surefire Hat information or to purchase the pattern! A tried and true manly hat is a good find. 

Here is the Ebb Cowl I did for quinceandco.com blocking ~ it is completely reversible with an interesting and fun texture stitch.

The pattern has several different sizes written out. What a fun and fast knit!

Here are my boys in their original Surefire Hats. I made these when the boys were swimming on swim team in the winter and their coach required that all swimmers wear warm winter hats during the season. They were not to be outside without a hat. This picture above is so old now, it kind of makes me sad how young the boys were, in middle and high school. Now both are in college.... time flies.

Anyway, I love thinking about what sells in what season and why, as far as patterns go. Sometimes the ones that sell the most surprise you and sometimes not. Thanks for indulging me a bit.

I hope you are all well and enjoying your fall knitting.
I'll be back soon with more....
best, susie